The Emoticlone War
by writerzero
Summary: Things are going well for the Titans, and they're considering what they might want to do with their futures besides being heroes. This leaves Beast Boy in a jam since he's never been to school. To Raven's dismay Cyborg comes up with a plan to help their fellow teammate. The story will be BBxRaven.
1. Chapter 1

**I do NOT own Teen Titans**

_Time: Around a year after the series ends. Most definitely does not include 'Teen Titans Go.'_

_This is going to be rather short compared to my other Teen Titan stories. However, I do hope you enjoy it. It will be shown mainly from the perspectives of Beast Boy and Raven, along with her emoticlones. BBxRaven will be the pairing, or at least is the pairing I currently plan for it to end as. Starting off they're the same as the series ended; friends._

* * *

_**The Future Awaits...**_

With an icy sense of dread sending chills down her back the violet-eyed girl waited, knowing that at any time now a certain green-skinned shaped shifter would be knocking on her door.

"Idiots." The empath muttered to herself, letting a hint of worry get through her usually impassive tone. "Idiots! Idiots! Idiots!" She muttered again, referring not to just the shape shifter, but to all of the other Titans. "What do they think Knowledge is?" She asked, speaking with a hint of savagery to the empty room. "A glorified personal tutor?"

Rising, the girl paced, or rather stalked, around the dimly lit room with little bursts of black energy sparkling around her fingertips. Considering what'd been going on for the last week, she was more than a little amazed she wasn't blowing up the entire room each time she had to go through this. "Heck. It's a wonder the Tower is still here." Raven admitted to herself. Once again the voice of the extremely anxious, half-demon empath failed to remain impassive.

The whole problem, fuming girl recalled, dated back to about three weeks ago. With the five of them working as a team, handling the villains around Jump City was now a piece of cake. When any of the more dangerous ones did show their face then, with the T-ship, it was a simple matter to call in Titans East. That amount of overwhelming firepower had easily dealt with everything they'd faced over the last year. It was rare when one of them even had to break a sweat anymore. It was too easy, and that left plenty of time for other things.

Robin had been the one to bring up the subject first. In a nutshell, he'd just wandered into the commons room one morning, as Beast Boy and Cyborg were arguing over tofu, and in a normal voice he'd asked, "_What are you three planning on doing with your lives_?"

"Oh yes." The brooding, half-demon muttered as she continued to paced around her room. "Such a simple question." _Though, _she admitted to herself, _he did have a point._ With the various villains managing an average of five to ten minutes between escaping prison to the time they were tossed back in, most of them had moved on to greener pastures. It was rare that the Titans were called on to handle even one villain a week; rather, it was more like one per month. If free time would've made them rich then they would've been all billionaires by now. What to do with all that free time, other than video games and Tower maintenance, had become a big discussion.

Cyborg had indicated he would like to return to school and finish college. As he'd spoke the eagerness in his voice had been obvious. Over his years as a part of the team he'd ceased to see the machines that kept him alive as a deformity. He no longer saw them as something to be hidden, but as a fundamental part of who, and what, he was. In fact, the cybernetic teen was more than merely content, and rather than just accepting them was proud of them.

"Without them I couldn't protect my friends, or the city." He'd solemnly spoke, looking them in the eye. "What more." He'd added with a grin even as his tone had remained serious. "I now realize they're not all that different from the arms and legs I once had. Those I had to train to keep in peak-physical condition to play sports." The cybernetic teen had lifted his arms to look at them. "These I still got to train, just not in the same way. I got to use my brain to fix them when they're damaged, and to improve them to be the best I can make them."

He'd flexed his titanium fists. "I can still push my limits, and that's what I've always wanted to do, even as a kid." A sense of glee had filled his voice. "I've always wanted to reach for the sky, and once I though that was sports. Then that was taken from me and I was lost." His one human eye had lit up, as he'd looked at them once again before continuing. "But then I became a Titan and learned that I could still reach for the sky, and that I wouldn't be alone. That I wasn't a monster or a freak. That I'm still just Victor Stone, and that I got a future."

It had been, the violet-eyed empath recalled, a rather motivating speech, delivered in a voice that'd caused them all to consider what they wanted out of life. It'd caused even her to reach deep down inside, ignoring the tiny voice that'd whispered in her ear that she was nothing and could never be anything, to consider what she, a half-demon, might do with her future.

To her surprise the answer had come easily, and without doubt. She, Raven, the daughter of Trigon the Terrible, who'd been meant to bring about the end of the world, wanted to be a doctor. _Not just a doctor. _She mused as she paused in her frenetic pacing for a few seconds. _I want to help children, and the power that came from Trigon is perfect for that. I can order cancers, like leukemia, to go into remission. That's easy; I don't even have to heal a wound, just tell the body what it's doing wrong." _A hint of a small smile crossed the lips of the young girl as she happily pondered her future, and saw just how bright it could be.

"And that I'm spitting in that bastard's face is just icing on the cake." She mused aloud, thinking how using that power to heal would drive Trigon insane with rage. A smirk crossed her face and nearly, just nearly, she almost laughed aloud.

A knock on the door brought her back to her current condition, causing her to gulp as she struggled to control her emotions. In the process a tiny spark of dark energy leapt from her fingers to singe the dark blue blanket on her bed. Nearly growling as she saw this, the young girl doubled her efforts to suppress the darker aspects of her demonic heritage.

The problem, the panicked empath recalled, was Beast Boy. Robin had hadn't entered the superhero business until his teens, and even then he'd been tutored by Batman. Starfire had entered it later than any of them, and had, being in line for the throne of Tamaran, been given the best education her world could offer. She, herself, had been well taught by the monks of Azarath.

That left Beast Boy. _Not his fault. _Raven reluctantly admitted to herself. _The rest of us were in our teens before we became heroes. Before that we were all in places where we were well taught. He was eight when he lost his parents and became a shape shifter. The same age as when he'd decided to use that power to help people. _The girl continued her pacing, ignoring the knock on the door. _Actually. _She thought. _Given he was eight and could shape shift it's a wonder he didn't become a villain. _

"_He's pure of heart, our BB_." A cheerful voice spoke within her mind.

_"True."_ Raven spoke back to Happy before letting her mind drift back to the green-skinned Titan and her less than enjoyable circumstances.

Back three weeks ago, when asked what he wanted to be, Beast Boy hadn't answered and they'd all assumed the same thing; that's our Beast Boy, immature as always. It'd been two days later that he'd admitted he'd given it a lot of though, and didn't really know. "However." He'd added. "Without some sort of education I'm not going to have many options." The green-skinned shape shifter had looked at his hands as he'd removed the gloves he normally wore, to gaze with a deadly serious frown at his fingers. "It's not as though I'm going to have many as it is with these." He'd sighed with an expression that none of them had ever seen on the normally hyper-active, and jubilant boy before.

In a nutshell it came down to the fact the boy had never attended school in his life. Sure, even at age eight he should've been in grade three, but his parent had moved a lot and had homeschooled him. Added to that was the fact that while he could write somewhat, his hands weren't really properly formed for it. It took him ages to write, or rather print, even a short sentence, and the letters had to be large. Raven figured even writing a short essay would require a book's worth of paper for the shape shifter. _And, _the girl sighed, _we can add to that the fact his mutated DNA makes him restless. It's nearly impossible for him to focus on something. It's like giving Knowledge a new book, and then trying to discuss the weather with her. You just ain't going to get anywhere._

Letting a tiny sigh escape her control she let her soul flow out towards the door to open it. If she waited too long she knew the boy would just leave; not because he wasn't focused on his studied, but rather because he was embarrassed.

"Morning." She greeted her fellow Titan, as he reluctantly entered the dark room. The normally talkative boy didn't utter a word in reply, choosing instead to stare at the floor. In his left hand the books he carried had holes gouged in them from the way he tightly clutched them. His right hand held the handle of a laptop.

The laptop had been Cyborg's idea. "BB might not be able to hold a pencil properly." The Cybernetic teen had observed. "But his hands are more than flexible enough for him to type with."

And so it was. The case for the laptop had been reinforced with titanium so the often frustrated pupil didn't damage it, while the keyboard had been modified so it could take a little more wear-and-tear from the needle-sharp claws of the embarrassed teen who often forgot just how delicate the machine was. At the end of the first week the pencil-challenged boy had been able to type at nearly fifty words per minute, which was more than enough for him to write an essay or type in the answers to questions.

_That had been the easy part. _Raven mused. _Even if he'd gotten up and wandered around practically every five minutes he'd stuck with the program. And, _she nearly smiled, _he'd only broken two of the specially rebuilt laptops. _But that thought brought her back to reality.

The Titans, once overwhelms with spare time, were now rather busy. They handled the rare villain that popped up, maintained the tower, practiced a little and, except for Saturday movie and pizza night, went their various ways.

Cyborg was taking a full load of college courses, and while his technical skills were beyond compare he was somewhat lacking in other areas. The near-genius intellect might be able to build a fusion reactor, but he didn't know the difference between a pyramid and a Ponzi scheme.

Robin was working on getting his highschool diploma, while also attending classes on forensics at a nearby police academy.

Starfire, who planned on remaining on earth so long as she could be near Boy Wonder, was taking language courses. She'd commented on how it was time she learned how to speak the language of her adopted world properly.

Raven herself, even if well educated, had no school records in this dimension. She was focused on taking the tests that would give her her highschool diploma.

In short, few of them had time to tutor the shape shifter, and they all doubtful he would fit in well with a kindergarten class. _He's way too hyperactive for that. _The empath admitted to herself, as she pictured the boy changing into a monkey to go swinging on the lights. But that he would need help getting started was obvious, and he was a Titan. Whether it was in a battle against a villain, or something like this, they couldn't just abandon one of their own.

It was then that Cyborg had come up with the _'so-called' _perfect solution. Let Knowledge tutor the boy. Raven could do her own work while her emoticlone did the tutoring. It was insane, and the empath had been against it a hundred-percent. _Had been, and still am. _She sighed, looking at the boy who, noticing the sigh, clenched his books even harder and looked down as if near tears. That made Raven cringe inside.

_We've been doing this a week with everything going perfect. _The half-demon admitted. _If he wasn't trying it would be one thing, but he is. This is something he's deadly serious about. He's NEVER let me down, and I'm NOT going to let him down now._ "'Ready?" She asked, forcing herself to give the smallest hint of a smile.

The shape shifter, still not looking her way, nodded.

"Good. Let's go." The empath, who had a nagging premonition that today might not go as well as the others, picked up her mirror.

End of Chapter.

* * *

Many thanks to those who read and review.


	2. Chapter 2

**I do NOT own Teen Titans**

_Comments and replies to questions:_

_While some will have a larger role to play than others, I'm thinking all of the emoticlones will play a part._

* * *

_**The Question,... First Strike,...**_

Raven held her breath as they were sucked into the mirror, to a realm no rational mind would've dreamt of even in their most terrifying nightmare. The sky, filled with fluffy, pink clouds, was a bright, cheerful yellow, while the trees resembled nothing more than cotton candy. Large, bright-red strawberries with equally bright-green stems, floated in the air, giving the whole place a delicious aroma that made the mouth water.

_A little pink I could handle. _The empath, who resisted wrinkling her nose, silently sighed. _But I refuse to admit that any part of me could be deranged enough to actually like this place. _She stared at the ground which was also pink, and tried not to shudder.

"BB." An ecstatic voice yelled as a pink-clad girl raced towards them, making airplane sounds.

"Hey Happy." Beast Boy greeted the emoticlone of happiness. "Another nice day for studying outside I see." He added, unable to resist grinning at her.

"Yep. Always going to be sunshine for my Beastie." The emoticlone made a circle around them and, still making airplane sounds, raced off.

"Outside?" Raven inquired. "I hardly think the inside of my mind can be considered as being outside."

The shape shifter shrugged. "If it was inside, then when I looked up I wouldn't see the sky." He pointed out.

"Hrmph. You're not here to look at the sky." The annoyed half-demon told him. "You're here to have Knowledge tutor you." She glanced upward. "In a place where there're no distractions." She added. "No video games, no comics, no junk food; nothing but books and lessons."

Beast Boy shook his head and sighed.

"If you're not serious we can leave now." Raven spoke in a tone that was deadly serious. _Any excuse to get him out of my mind. _She told herself.

"I'm serious." Came the amused reply. "Trust me Raven. I'm serious."

She looked at his face which, for some reason she couldn't fathom, reminded her of her own when she was having trouble with her emotions.

_No distractions? _The shape shifter mused, trying not to laugh. _There're eight Raven look-alikes here, for crying out loud. Of course there're distractions._

"Where do you want to study today." A yellow-clad emoticlone interrupted them.

"Hrm." Beast Boy pondered the question. There were two major parts to Nevermore. The area Happy created, which they were currently in, and Timid's Labyrinth. He'd found both places to be rather pleasant. "Let's just find a tree for some shade for today." He suggested, with a small grin at the girl who'd asked the question..

"Okay." Knowledge agreed, letting a small smile of her own escape.

"Come out Rage." Raven ordered, looking around. "I know you're here. I don't know why, but you always are when he's here, so show yourself."

"Hrmph." A dark voice growled just a few feet away.

"No causing trouble." Raven commanded, turning to stare the four-eyed emoticlone that represented her darker side in the eye.

"Me? Cause trouble?" Came the reply that, despite its darkness, carried a hint of humor.

"Yes. You." The empath stated, not taking her eyes off her most troublesome aspect.

"Sure, sure. I pinky promise." Muttered the red-clad figure sarcastically, as she held out her hand with her pinky finger extended.

Raven continued to stare obsessively at Rage, knowing if anyone of her aspects were to try to cause trouble it would be her. The others might be annoying, and disrupt the studying, but they wouldn't try to cause harm.

"Swear you won't try to hurt Beast Boy." She demanded.

"Me hurt him? Why on Azarath would I do that?" The aspect of hate actually sounded shocked, and looked liked the very idea had stunned her.

The empath actually growled, and nearly clenched her fists as she studied the red-clad emoticlone. "Promise."

There came a slow, rumbling sigh before Rage spoke again. "I promise." She stated.

Raven relaxed as she let the tension that'd been building inside her fade. Her emoticlones were parts of her, and couldn't lie to her; at least not when she turned her empathic senses on them and made them answer a question directly. Whatever she might be up to, that dark aspect of her wouldn't cause trouble or try to hurt Beast Boy. _Today will be just like the other times he's studied here. _She told herself. But she still had that icy feeling in the middle of her back, and a sense of dread that made her swallow nervously.

"Hi Rage." Beast Boy spoke he usual greeting to the intimidating figure..

As usual the red-clad figure didn't speak. Instead, reaching up, she pulled her hood over her head until just the bottom of her chin could be seen.

"Let's get started." Knowledge suggested.

"Okay." The shape shifter agreed and, with a small contented sigh, he sat beneath a nearby tree. Beside the cotton candy look-alike the ground was always soft, and the tree itself was always comfortable to rest against. _It's like they were designed to be comfortable chairs. _He realized as he cracked his fingers, and opened the laptop.

"Study" Raven ordered, looking down with some misgivings about leaving him alone still bothering her.

"I will." The boy promised, looking up at her with a grin.

She turned to leave, already rising into the air to fly towards the forbidden door.

"Raven." Beast Boy called out.

She turned to glance at him, her expression neutral.

"Thanks." He told her with a grateful smile. "I know how much this bothers you."

"Just do your best." Rising, she fled towards the door, eager to escape a world gone mad with pinkness and other bright, cheerful colors. With no one to see her, the girl let a horrified shudder run through her body as she tried not to look at the dreadful scenery. _Pink! _She nearly cried aloud. _On Azarath, why must there be so much pink?_

* * *

"Okay." Knowledge said, taking the laptop. "Let's see how well you did with the homework." Hitting a few buttons she pulled up a menu, and a program quickly scanned the problems she'd given the boy to work on. "Looks like you get a hundred on the work with fractions." She told her pupil.

"Cool."

The yellow-clad emoticlone smiled, enjoying having a pupil to teach. She'd found the boy to be extremely smart, as well as dedicated. He had, she'd discovered, over the years already learned many of the skills that were essential to learning. He had a basic understanding of math including, as she'd just learned, fractions. And while Raven claimed he never read, his vocabulary was on par with that of Knowledge herself. _Albeit not the same words. _She mused, curious.

"What books do you read?" She asked.

Beast Boy looked back, appearing a little confused. "If you asked Raven I don't read books." He joked. "Actually, that's pretty much true, unless you consider comics to be books. She doesn't."

Now it was the emoticlone's turn to look puzzled. "What's the name for the digestive system of a cell?" She asked.

"The lysosome." Came the immediate reply.

"What part of the brain controls reasoning?"

"The cerebrum."

Knowledge frowned a little. "What is the white part of a person's eye?"

"Sclera." Came the bored response.

"Hrm... If you don't read books how do you know that?"

"I can still recall some of what I learned from my parents. You don't spend eight years with two of the world's most renown geneticists without learning a thing or two." He shrugged. "Sure I was just a kid, but those were the sort of words they spoke in, and I just picked them up like a kid would other words; such as red or blue or grass."

"Oh. You do any other reading besides comics."

"Articles on animals, though not books." The shape shifter admitted. "But only on animals. When I change into a form I have the instincts of that shape, but I still like to know stuff about them." He shrugged again. "I need to know the limits of what they can do so I will know when to use them in a fight." He explained.

"Ah." Knowledge replied. "Guess biology isn't something we will need to study." The girl smiled. "See, it's only been a week and already you're well past a highschool level in one subject."

"Hey. Hi Timid." The green-skinned Titan suddenly called out, seeing the greyish emoticlone standing behind a tree some distance away. The figure immediately dashed completely behind the pink shrubbery, disappearing from view.

* * *

_Biology. _Rage mused, staring at the boy. _Now there's an interesting subject. _She grinned, recalling what Raven had made her promise. _How naive of her. Sure I won't cause trouble... _That nearly made her laugh. _Sure, I won't harm him. _She thought, and her lips turned up in a wicked smile. _Of course, dear Raven, what you consider trouble might not be the same thing as what I consider trouble. And as for harm, well there's a distinction to be made there too. _A snicker escape her lips. Moving, she sat down beside the boy.

"Hey Rage." The shape shifter looked at the red-clad girl who still had her hood covering her face.

"Got a question for you." Came the sinister sounding voice as the emoticlone spoke.

"No causing trouble." Knowledge warned.

"Don't hurt BB." Happy spoke from where she'd been watching some distance away. Raven had clearly warned her as well about disturbing him while studying.

"Sheesh. It's just a question." Rage muttered, sounding angry. "How can that hurt him?"

"What is it?" Beast Boy asked, sounding curious. Rage had never spoke to him before.

"If you ask a thief to be good, what does it mean?" There was a hint of a laugh in her voice.

"Hrm. To give up being a thief?" He replied.

Rage actually giggled at that, causing those around her to go into temporary shock.

_It seems. K_nowledge noted, with some shock. _That there really is a first time for everything. _

"That's the answer a goody-two-shoes would give." Rage finally replied, trying to suppress further giggles. Rising, she walked away, but not before she let another uncontrolled giggle escape. _This is going to be fun. _She mused, and beneath her hood her scarlet eyes flashed an even brighter red for the briefest of moments.

"Hrm." Beast Boy sighed, watching as the girl settled down some distance away.

"She's just playing games with you." Knowledge spoke, glad the most probably cause of trouble had decided to leave.

"I know that." The shape shifter shrugged. "And I know every story has more than one side. I'm guessing she's not looking at it from the side of a goody-two-shoes."

"Definitely not." The yellow-clad girl agreed. "More likely the side that's as far from good as you can get."

Settling down beneath one of the comfortable trees Happy had designed to be chairs, Rage watched the two for a while longer. Then, closing her eyes, she tried to sense what Raven was up to. _Maybe today is the day. _The dark aspect hoped. _Maybe something will keep her busy and I'll have a chance to play. _A grin spread across her face.

* * *

"Hey, if she gets to ask a question I want to ask one too." Happy said, bouncing up to them.

"Just one." Knowledge decided. "We really should be getting down to studying, but it isn't as if I don't ask him enough questions about the outside world."

"What does strawberry ice cream taste like?" Happy asked, as she raced around them with her arms spread out before she bounced to a stop and waited for the answer.

"You don't know?" Beast Boy asked, looking at the apparently gigantic strawberries floating around in the air.

"No." The pink-clad girl said, dropping to the ground. "We only see what she's doing when she releases us."

"Oh?" The green-skinned Titan was confused.

"If something makes Raven happy, then Happy can see and feel what she's doing." Knowledge explained. "If something make her curious, or makes her feel interest on an intellectual level, then I can see and feel what she's doing."

"But outside of that you can't?" The shape shifter asked.

"Nope." Happy put on a rare frown. "She feels happy sometimes, but so far she hasn't eating any strawberry ice cream when she did." The pink-clad girl closed her eyes, and sighed as she lifted her face to sniff the air. "They smell so wonderful though." She added in a dreamy voice.

"Oh." Beast Boy didn't know what to say. "I guess you could say it tastes like strawberries. Just a little cold, and a bit sweet." He added, knowing the description didn't do it justice.

"Hrm." The pink-clad girl continued to stare up at a floating strawberry.

_Emoticlones have dreams. _Beast Boy suddenly realized. _She might know what a strawberry looks like and smells like, but I doubt she knows what one tastes like. And she's curious; she wants to know about that, and about strawberry ice cream._

"I'll bring some tomorrow." He offered. "Knowledge can use my laptop, so I'm guessing you can eat ice cream."

"You would!" The excited emoticlone squealed with delight, as she threw her arms around the shape shifter, bowling him over.

"I will." Beast Boy told the girl as he gently, and with great reluctance, tried to remove her arms.

* * *

Feeling a sense of dread that had nothing to do with the upcoming test, Raven walked into the brightly lit classroom where she was about to take her high school equivalency test. A pass would mean a diploma; a fail would mean she started studying like crazy. The first excited her, while the second did nothing to worry her. She was pretty sure the monks of Azarath had taught her well, and if not then she wasn't opposed to sitting down beside Knowledge and Beast Boy to do a little studying of her own. Either way she was happy. _In the words of Cy. _She mused. _I'm Raven, and I got a future._ Focused on finding a place to sit, her lips twitched as she failed to fully suppress a smile.

* * *

Rage watched the antics of the obsessively happy girl, patiently waiting. She knew the day would eventually come when Raven would be busy; Beast Boy would be in here, but the blue-clad girl, who was the master of this realm, would be too busy to rush to her mirror to save him. That she would then have time to play. _Maybe it'll be a tough villain. _The emoticlone mused, wondering what might provide such a distraction. Then her eyes focused on those she was watching, and her heart began to race.

Happy sat back in a daze, letting her arms fall from the shape shifter she'd ensnared. A look that boarded on pure rapture filled her face.

"Raven's happy now, and that means Happy can see the outside world." Knowledge started to explain just before her own lips turned up in a smile.

"There's sunlight shining through the window." The pink-clad emoticlone spoke, still looking dazed. "It's so pretty."

"She's going to take a test." Knowledge spoke softly, tilting her head. "You're right, the sun shining through the window is pretty." Her nose twitched. "Can you smell that?" She asked.

"I can, I can." Happy gave a small squeal. "I wonder what it is."

"I think it's the trees outside the window." Knowledge told her. "It's not a plant I'm familiar with, but I think that what she's smelling."

"Mmmm." Happy gave a small sigh as she led back on the ground.

_Test. _Rage though, knowing she'd heard enough; there was only one test Raven was preparing for, and it would take her hours to finish. _Time to play. _Came the delicious thought as she uncontrollably giggled again. The sound was dark, yet pleasant. Rising, she stalked her prey with her fingers outstretched, as though they were the talons of some bird of prey.

Both Happy and Knowledge snapped out of their daze as the maniacally grinning, red-clad emoticlone appeared beside Beast Boy. Before either of them could think of what to do or say, the emoticlone, who was obviously not herself, grabbed the startled shape shifter, before fading into the ground with him.

"Uh oh." Knowledge slowly spoke, no long focused on what Raven was seeing. Her hand was halfway reached out in a futile attempt to stop the disastrous event.

"Beastie." Whimpered Happy, who now wore an uncharacterisitc frown

"Not good, not good, not good,..." Knowledge chanted to herself, eyes closed, while Happy just stared at the spot where the shape shifter had vanished. Dread radiated from the two who were in an obvious panic.

* * *

End of Chapter.

Many thanks to those who read and review.


	3. Chapter 3

**I do NOT own Teen Titans**

_Comments and replies to reviews:_

_Where did Beast Boy go?. If you watch episode 6 of the cartoon, he and Cyborg end up in Nevermore. That's where he is. That episode also shows just what emoticlones are._

_When Raven feels two emotions at once, think of it as being a tv station which only certain emoticlones can tune in to. She's happy where her life is going, so Happy can see/hear/feel what she's feeling. Getting ready to take the test is stimulating the intellectual part of her mind, so Knowledge can also see/hear/feel what she's doing. However, neither Happy nor Knowledge are in the driver's seat, though their own emotions might affect Raven to some minor degree. But so long as she keep a close lid on those emotions they're just observers. The only way they can seize control would be if she allowed the emotions to become stronger than her own control. ie. She gets extremely angry, so Rage gets loose. But as soon as she calms down, Rage would lose power._

_I did have Raven use the word, even if it isn't a word, "ain't" on purpose. I'm sure she would never use it out loud, but that was her own internal thoughts and I wanted just a tad bit of emphasis on what she was thinking. Mentally she would've been thinking about Beast Boy, and we all know if anyone can make her emotional it's him._

* * *

_**A War Party Forms (Or Tries to),... The Question Answered,... Rage's First Kiss,...**_

"Where's BB?" A confident voice demanded, as a green-clad emoticlone rushed over. It seemed Brave had been watching from a distance.

"Looks like four-eyes got him." Burped an orange-clad emoticlone by the name of Rude. "Boy. Is she going to be in trouble." There was a slight hint of glee in her voice as she said the later.

A purple-clad girl appeared from behind a tree with a deep frown on her usually smiling face. "Why would she take BB?" Affection asked, looking worried.

Sloth, who wore a brown cloak, slumped down on the ground beside them, not saying a word.

"BB." A gentle voice sobbed from behind one of the many pink trees. It seemed Timid was still unwilling to show herself.

Knowledge push her glasses up, trying to think, but the commotion was disturbing her. _Raven is going to blame me. _She thought, filled with panic. _And who knows what Rage is up to._ She shuddered as she considered the possibilities. _Not good. Not good. Not good. _Her mind went into a loop.

"We got to save BB." Happy stated with a seriousness that stunned them all. "We can't just leave him in her hands until Raven gets back. It might be too late by then." She trembled as she felt emotions she wasn't used to - worry and anger.

"Do you think if we found her and asked her nicely she would stop making trouble?" Affection asked.

As one the rest of the emoticlones turned to stare at her. Even Timid poked her head out from behind the tree she was hiding behind to look at her in disbelief.

"Okay. So I take that's a no." Affection gulped. _By Azar that was a stupid question. _The emoticlone admitted to herself. _But Happy is right; we got to save BB._

"Find her and pummel her into submission." Brave insisted. "But we better be quick about it." She too gulped, wondering what the aspect of Raven's evil side had in mind for their friend.

"Since when have you won a fight with Rage?" Knowledge asked as she once again pushed her glasses up.

"Well... There's a first time for everything." The green-clad emoticlone stated. She glared furiously at the spot where the boy had disappeared. "I would win sometimes if she played fair." The girl added.

"There's seven of us." Affection pointed out. "Surely we can make her listen to reason."

"Six." Knowledge spoke absentmindedly, with a glance towards Timid.

"That's enough." Brave decided. "This is war and all goes."

"That's right." Happy stated. "This is war so let's find her and clobber her. We've got to save my Beastie."

"Okay." Knowledge admitted, in total agreement with the two. "It's war and we got to save BB." She looked around. "As the best suited to be leader I'll form a plan."

"Why you?" The green-clad Brave demanded. "I'm her fighting side."

"I'm smarter. That's why." Came the prompt reply.

"I'm stronger." Brave retorted back.

"How far has that gotten you against her so far?" Snapped the yellow-clad emoticlone, who was feeling more than a little insulted.

"Further than your books will get you." Growled the now equally furious Brave.

"Arguing isn't going to help." Affection spoke softly.

"Less fighting and more saving." Happy stated. "Well, less fighting here. We do have to fight Rage." She amended.

"You know." Rude spoke up with a tiny smirk that she failed to completely hide. "If we're going to war we need the best leader. How do we choose the best?"

"By seeing who's the best in a fight." Brave stated. "And that's me." She glared at the yellow-clad emoticlone who didn't flinch.

"Brains will beat brawn any day." Knowledge firmly stated.

"Prove it." Came the blunt reply, followed by a fist.

* * *

"Um... What are you up to?" Beast Boy asked nervously. Looking around her saw they were still in Happy's domain.

"If you ask a thief to be good, what does it mean?" Rage asked from beneath the hood of her cloak.

The shape shifter looked around, noting the dark barrier that would keep him from fleeing. "I'm guess the goody-two-shoes answer isn't the one you're looking for." He finally replied, turning to look at the emoticlone who'd just kidnapped him.

"Hehe. Nope." Came the amused reply.

"Then I guess it means for him to be a good thief." Beast Boy shrugged. "If you cast aside morals, then stealing isn't wrong. So a thief who's good is someone who's a good thief." The green-skinned Titan frowned, and a look of concentration appeared on his face. "So when Raven made you promise not to cause trouble, you really did mean it. It's just relative." He sighed. "If you cast aside morals the promise basically means you don't cause trouble for yourself, but causing trouble for other people is okay."

"Seems Knowledge is right." Rage mused. "You are smart. That's sort of what it means. But just sort of."

"Just sort of?"

"Just sort of." The emoticlone echoed before continuing. "As a Titan if you cause trouble for other Titans then its wrong, but if you cause trouble for villains then it's good." She paused to see if the boy understood.

"Oh." The green-skinned shape shifter mused. "So you don't have to throw out morals; it depends on the situation."

"Hrm." Was Rage's only response. Then her hand reached out to run through his hair.

"Hey." Beast Boy shrieked.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Came the dark reply. "She also made me promise not to hurt you, remember." The half-demon emoticlone removed her hood to better study her prey.

"Probably some way you can twist that around too." The boy muttered. To his surprise Rage laughed.

"True. If I wanted to." A smirk appeared on her face. "For example. I won't harm you, but I can set it up so that Raven does." Her eyes flashed as if daring him to contradict her.

Beast Boy cringed. He'd seen the way her eyes had flashed, and knew what it meant. If he asked her how she could twist it around, and make Raven hurt him, then she would take it as a dare. Honestly, he couldn't even conceive of the mysterious, if dark, girl ever hurting him. He closed his eyes.

"She would never hurt me." He stated. "But even if you can twist it around, I'm not going to ask how." He kept his eyes closed.

Rage patiently waited, watching the boy. Five minutes passed before she saw his eyes open just enough for him to peer out at her; they closed again.

"I'm not going to ask." The shape shifter firmly stated. " I'm not going to ask."

Ten minutes later Rage was still waiting when the boy opened his eyes with a slight cringe.

"I don't see how." He admitted. "She might be annoyed I got kidnapped, and be pretty sarcastic about it, but she won't hurt me."

"What if she found out you'd been making out with one of the emoticlones behind her back?"

"Whaaa..." The boy gulped. "I would never do that." He gulped again.

"Hehe. Funny boy." Rage grinned, and took a step closer. "Of cour..." She paused as yelling and several explosion came from the distance.

"What's that?" The green-skinned Titan asked, more than glad for the distraction.

"I'm guessing it's Stupid causing trouble again." The red-clad girl mused aloud.

"Stupid? Raven doesn't have an emoticlone by that name." Beast Boy replied as he stared through the trees, trying to see what was going on. "Does she?" He finally asked.

"Well, she has an emoticlone by the name of Knowledge, so is it so far-fetched she might have one called Stupid?"

"Guess not." The boy admitted with a frown. "But somehow I doubt it. What color cloak does she wear?"

"Green."

"Green?" The shape shifter looked thoughtful for a second. "But that's the color Brave wears." He added.

"Bingo." Rage grinned at him.

"But that's Raven's courageous side." The shape shifter stated, preparing to defend the honor of the slandered emoticlone.

"We're not all just simple emotions, in case you haven't noticed." Rage shrugged. "We each have different sides, but still, if one of us is smart, then someone has to be dumb."

"Liar." The remark was growled, carrying with it a deep sense of offense.

"Oh?" The red-clad girl peered curiously at her captive.

"Brave isn't stupid, she's just ... rash." The boy claimed. In the distance he could still hear yelling, and the sound of minor explosions. "Very rash at times." He admitted.

"You're welcome to your opinion, I guess." Rage shrugged. "Now back to where we left off. You making out with an emoticlone." Her eyes lit up and she took a step closer.

"Wait." Beast Boy squeaked, pressing his back against a tree.

"What?" Came the impatient reply.

"I admit it. You can make Raven hurt me." The panicked boy gulped. "Hurt me really bad." He added. "But there's no need to actually make her hurt me. Trust me, I hate being hurt."

"Oh. I'm not doing this to hurt you." Rage almost purred as she smiled. "Or to make a point."

"Then why?" He stared back into the four, red eyes that were less than six inches from his own, and nervously gulped again.

"Thing is, we do have more than one side." The emoticlone shrugged, not taking her eyes from her prey. She licked her lips, and grinned as she saw the shape shifter tremble.

"So?" Came another squeak.

"Think of Affection. A nice little emoticlone." There was some sarcasm in her tone.

"True." Beast Boy agreed, ignoring the sarcasm.

"A goody-two-shoes." Rage shrugged. "All the nice emotions like love and affection and caring." She scowled evilly. "Much too nice to have something like lust amongst all those goody-two-shoe emotions. Guess which one of us that got tossed into." The red-clad girl's scowl became a look of intense anger.

"Hrm..." He really didn't want to state the obvious. Gulping again, he tried to disappear into the tree he was backed against.

"Happy has others she can play with." Rage fumed. "It doesn't take much to keep her in line. Knowledge has her book that lets her read. She might not feel what Raven does, or experience it, but she can read about it. Rude can be rude wherever she is, even if it is to other emoticlones. That's enough to keep her content. Sloth? Well, she can roll around in the dirt anywhere. Brave can have fun picking fights with the others. Affection has all the other emoticlones to care for and cheer up; especially Timid. And as for Timid herself. She has her labyrinth and doesn't care to do much. Hiding amidst all that stone is what suits her."

"I see." He manged to get out.

"Now me." Rage grumbled. "I got things like hate and anger. Sure, I can express those in here. I can be angry at how Happy is always happy. I can hate that Raven gets to experience the world when we're stuck in here."

"I see." The terrified boy echoed as he tried to press his back deeper into the soft tree behind him.

"But lust. Now that's a whole different story." The emoticlone sighed. "Sure. I could do something with the other emoticlones, but, you know, I just don't swing that way." She shrugged, and took a deep sigh. "Besides, somehow I don't think it would be the same. And, even if I'm Raven's evil side, I don't care to hurt them. At least not too much. They're my sisters, sort of."

"I see." The shape shifter echoed again, as he briefly eyed the barrier that kept him from fleeing. Irresistably his eyes were drawn back to those of the emoticlone who was standing much too close to him.

"So, you understand my situation now?" The red-clad girl smiled at her prey.

"I do." The boy reluctantly admitted. "But I'm sure you can do better than someone who's green with fangs and pointy ears."

There was a long silence.

Beast Boy cringed. "I guess not." He sighed, and gulped again, as he looked around in a desperate panic for an escape route.

Rage gently placed her hands on the changeling's shoulders, not actually wanting to hurt him. Closing her eyes, as she thought most people did during such times, she leaned forward. Excitedly, she prepared for the long-awaited contact of lips on lips with her heart racing.

_His face was just inches from mine. _She thought a few seconds later. _Why is it taking so long._ Still she kept leaning forward, feeling the heart in her chest pound as it never had before. Eventually she felt something.

_Is this right? _The red-clad emoticlone pondered. _It doesn't feel right, though I'm not sure how I would know that. It just doesn't. And why aren't my hands on his shoulders anymore? They're resting on the tree. _She opened her eyes, which then went wide. There, sitting in the hollow his head had made in the pink and fluffy tree, was Beast Boy; in the form a great South American horned frog.

"Eeek!" The startled, half-demon, emoticlone took a step back.

Beast Boy, returned to his human form grinning. "You know. I don't think Raven is going to hurt me after all. When she's hears this story she's going to kill herself laughing before she gets around to actually maiming me."

End of Chapter.

* * *

Many thanks to those who read and review


	4. Chapter 4

**I do NOT own Teen Titans**

* * *

_**Raven Starts her Test,... The Not so Pleased Rage,... Deciding the War Party Leader,... The Calvary Arrives,...**_

With a slight frown, Raven stared at the test in front of her. _What's going on? _She quietly muttered, with her fingers rubbing at her forehead in frustration. Inside she could feel her emoticlones being pretty active; way too active for her tastes. _Don't tell me Rage is causing trouble again. _The girl sighed. At first it'd just seemed like the typical turmoil from when Brave and Rage fought, but it had just escalated in a major way; more than just the two of them were fighting now, and they had to be going at it with more than their usual half-fun and half-serious way of blowing off steam.

Still looking at the test, the worried Titan tried to figure out what to do. _Rage promised not to hurt Beast Boy. _She recalled. _And I'm pretty sure she meant it. So she won't be after him. _Sighing, she turned her attention to the young woman who was giving instruction on how to complete the test. Or tried to. With a nervous gulp she continued trying to figure out what was going on.

_Rage promised, and none of the others would ever think about hurting him. For the most part they like him..._ _So he's not in any danger... So it's safe to wait. _The violet-eyed girl finally decided._ Besides, Beast Boy knows how to take care of himself. When he's serious he's a match for any of my emoticlones. _Raven tapped her pencil on the desk nervously, still unable to push the panic from her mind. _A match for any of them, except Rage and Timid. _The girl amended her previous thoughts on the matter. _But Rage promised, and Timid never fights, so he's safe. _The less than happy empath sighed once again as she turned her test over. Writing her name, the hint of a frown remained on her face.

* * *

"My first kiss was with a frog." The dark tone of the enraged emoticlone indicated anything but pleasure.

Beast Boy frowned, feeling a little guilty. The guilt turned to fear as he saw dark energy rise to surround the incensed girl who, he recalled, was a half-demon. "It's not that bad." He tried to say, knowing it actually was.

"My first kiss was with a frog." Rage repeated. Then, glowing a bright, crimson red, her four eyes focused on the terrified shape shifter.

"Hey. Remember the promise. No hurting." He gulped. "Please remember the promise." The boy added, making it a prayer.

"That was before I kissed a frog." The half-demon girl fumed. "I didn't plan to hurt you then. But now..." She grinned maliciously. "I do."

"Would it help if I said I'm sorry." He knew it was a futile gesture.

"No." A blast of dark energy erupted from the hands of the emoticlone, and slammed towards the boy.

In desperation, Beast Boy, who'd been strategically studying his predicament even as he'd been pleading for his life, changed into a humming-bird and evaded the attack. The small form would be hard to track, and was very adept at making sudden changes in direction. Within the small bubble of Rage's barrier, it was the best hope he had to stay alive. _Other than actually attacking her. _He nervously mused. _But I don't want to hurt her. _The shape shifter considered that for a second before his mind screamed, _but I don't want her to hurt me either!_

"Stay still you damn insect." The red-clad demon of absolute fury roared, as she blasted the air with bolt after bolt of dark energy. "Stay still!" She raged again, trying to keep the pest in sight.

_Not likely. _The humming-bird silently gulped, as its sharp eyes intensely studied his deadly foe. Being the master of maneuverability, the small form alternately dashed forward, only to come to a complete stop and fly backwards. It would start to bolt left, only to zoom right. As skilled as the demon was, the shape shifter knew in her current state she wouldn't hit him; she was far too incensed to aim, or even think properly. And even if she hadn't been, then the odds were still on his side.

Suddenly the outpour of dark magic came to a stop. "Okay. I did make a promise." Rage spoke in a voice that seethed with fury. "Let's talk. I want to know a few things about the outside world. Maybe you could just describe a kiss to me." The dark intensity in her eyes didn't waiver for a second.

Beast Boy hovered in front of the demon, where he stared her in the eye with an expression that said, "Yeah right. You think I'm that stupid."

"Pest." Rage screamed, and the attacks once again came; brutally and swift the half-demon flung forth her wrath.

* * *

Happy had her arms around Brave, trying to pull her away from Knowledge. Affection was doing the same with Knowledge. Despite their best efforts they were getting nowhere.

"Stop." Gasped the pink-clad emoticlone, who had a headache and blurry vision. The book Knowledge normally carried had turned into a great tome, which she was using to devastating affect. Unfortunately for Happy, during her frenetic struggle to pull her two friends apart that deadly weapon often missed Brave only to strike her instead, usually on the head.

"This isn't helping." Affection said in a voice that was losing its softness, as even her patience was starting to run out. The face of the purple-clad girl was bruised, and a tiny trickle of blood ran from her nose. She would try to pull Knowledge away from Brave, often causing the rash, green-clad emoticlone to miss her foe and pummel her by mistake.

In short, the two would-be peacemakers were getting battered more than the two who were actually trying to batter each other into submission. In the meantime Rude was watching the whole process with a grin, while Sloth was idly pulling at some pink grass, ignoring them. Timid had her head poked out from behind a tree, with her eyes opened wide as she looked on.

"Fight. Fight." A trembling voice suddenly cried out, barely loud enough to be heard above the squabble.

"We know. We know." Happy and Affection both snapped as one, still grappling with their fellow emoticlones.

"No. BB." Timid spoke again, pointing even though the harsh voices of her friends caused her to cringe more than usual.

"Huh?" Happy looked up, only to be walloped in the head by Knowledge once again.

"Where?" Affection asked, only to be slugged in the mouth by Brave. A trickle of blood run from her bruised lip, matching the one that ran from her battered nose.

"There." Timid managed to gasp in a heart wrenchingly nervous tone. It was taking all she had to just speak amidst all the violence, and the poor girl wished nothing more than to return to her labyrinth, and the safe comfort of the cool stone. Yet there was also the need to save BB, so she stayed and pointed.

Happy and Affection looked to where the gray-clad girl was pointing. They could see a shimmer of black energy in the distance and, now that their own fight had ceased, they could hear blasts of energy being unleashed. The voice of Rage could also be heard, raging as she violently cursed.

"We've got to save my Beastie." Happy cried.

"We do. But he's not yours." Affection said, wiping the blood from her face. "He's ours."

"I'll lead the war party" Knowledge suddenly decided aloud.

"No. I'll lead ..." Brave started to say.

"Stop!" Affection uncharacteristically roared angrily. "The person who takes down Rage is the leader." She firmly stated, knowing it made no sense. After all, once that deadly foe was taken care of there would be no need for a leader. Still, to her relief, it shut the two squabbling emoticlones up.

"I'll handle her." Brave stood up and raced off.

"No. I will." Knowledge fumed loudly as she gave chase.

"Sheesh." Affection loudly sighed. She, along with Happy, Rude, and Sloth, sprinted towards Rage as well. Of Timid nothing could be seen as the frightened girl, ruled by her cautious nature, took the time to think things through.

* * *

"Stay still, stay still, stay still, ..." Rage vehemently screamed in a vexed voice. From her hands, which were raised with the fingers curled like talons, bolt after bolt of dark energy reached out for the tiny humming-bird. To the half-demon's dismay, the shape shifter was easily avoiding her every attack, which only drove her unbridled wrath to ever greater heights. The attacks poured forth in a seemingly unending cascade that would have sent armies fleeing for their lives, yet the small bird continued to mock her; and if there was one thing the red-clad emoticlone hated, it was being mocked.

"Stay still, stay still, stay still, ..." The incensed girl continued to rage, nearly brought to tears by the sheer futility of her outburst.

"Holy Azarath." Brave cried, as she came to a stop to stare at the out-of-control demon before her. Gulping, and wondering if she really wanted to be the aspect of Raven's courageous side any longer, she raised her fists. "Stop." The green-clad emoticlone loudly ordered. "Where's BB?" She then asked fearfully, looking at the devastated land around her foe. That it'd been once covered in various shades of colorful pink grass was hard to believe.

"Aarrgghh." Driven incoherent by her need to teach a certain green-skinned boy the meaning of the word pain, it took the red-clad demon a few seconds before she could focus on her fellow emoticlone. "What do you want, Stupid?" She growled at the interloper.

"Where's BB?" Brave asked again, not liking the look of things. The land was splattered with endless craters, each about a meter deep, while there was no sign of her friend. It didn't look good.

"Don't know. Don't care." Rage lied, just wanting the nuisance to leave. Behind her she kept the barrier in place to make sure the shape shifter didn't escape. _Something has got to hit him sooner or later. _She decided, almost growling the thought aloud.

"You stole him." Brave pointed out. "So, you got to know where he is." She gulped.

"You don't steal a person, Stupid. You kidnap them." The half-demon muttered. "By Azarath, don't you have a brain?"

"Don't call me that." The insulted girl retorted. "And that doesn't matter right now. All I care about is making sure you don't hurt BB. Where is he?" She raised her fists and, with great determination, marched forward.

"How would I know... Oh, for crying out loud! He's right there behind you. Stupid!" Rage pointed over the emoticlone's shoulder.

"Behind me? How did he get ..." Brave turned to look. As she did so, Rage cold-cocked her with a fist that was coated in black energy.

"Idiot." The now amused half-demon sighed aloud. "You're an empath, and yet you couldn't tell he was less than five feet from you. Pathetic."

The unconscious girl didn't reply. Rage, who, due to her more demonic nature was just as strong as the brave side of Raven, had not only hit her foe with the brute force of her fist, but also with all the arcane power she could put into the punch. It would be an hour, or more, before the sucker-punched emoticlone would wake up with a blinding headache, and a very sore jaw.

"Well that takes care of that." The somewhat calmed down Rage smiled. Turning, she decided to get back to the shape shifter who giving her so much trouble.

* * *

"Where's BB?" Knowledge ran up, panting with her hands on her knees as she struggled to catch her breath. _And, by Azarath, why did I run here? I just saw Brave start to run and I followed her like an idiot. I could've flown, or teleported._ A little wobbly from the exertion of sprinting to the battlefield, she forced herself to stand tall, and tried to look intimidating.

"What are you doing with BB?" Timid dared to ask, as she rose from the ground, having teleported. Looking at the shattered landscape, and the unconscious Brave, she gulped and dashed for the nearest tree. A second later her head poked out from behind the less than sturdy barrier. Her eyes immediately turned towards the barrier behind the demonic emoticlone, and she relaxed a little.

"Well, if it isn't the whole gang." The red-clad demon noted, as she saw the rest of the emoticlones rush up.

"Please. Can't we just stop the fighting." Affection begged. "It doesn't serve any purpose. Just give BB back."

"Where's my Beastie?" Happy demanded, though she kept her distance.

With a dark rumble, Rage sighed, realizing she would have to deal with these pests before she could get back to the shape shifter.

"Please. Violence won't solve anything." Affection spoke again, wiping at the dried blood on her battered face.

"Sure it will." The red-clad girl replied. "It'll get rid of all of you for bit." Even if she sounded a little bored, her tone was deadly serious. "Besides, don't you have better things to do than bother me?" She asked, idly, with a glance at the unmoving form of Brave.

"Poor Brave." Affection gave a shocked yell. "I've got to take her somewhere safe." She raced for the hurt emoticlone, only to pause. "But I got to save BB." A frown appeared on the girl's face as she tried to concentrate. "Save BB, or take care of Brave. Save BB, or take care Brave. Which do I do first?"

Rage solved the problem for the conflicted girl as she stepped up to the distracted emoticlone, and cold-cocked her much as she'd done with Brave. On the arcane side though she held back a little, only wanting to stun her fellow emoticlone, not actually hurt her. The purple-clad figure slumped to the ground, lying across the equally unconscious form of her friend.

"Sucker." Rage sighed, unable to decide whether she should be amused, or just bored.

"Good one." Rude piped up with a grin.

"Get lost." The demonic emoticlone retorted.

"Where's my Beastie?" Happy quivered. To her, Rage seemed a lot more ... evil ... than usual.

"He's inside the barrier." Knowledge spoke, having scanned the area around them with her empathic senses.

Rage slapped her forehead. "At least one of you got a brain." She admitted, albeit with some reluctance. Giving compliments wasn't something she was used to.

"I am the smartest one of us." Knowledge boasted.

"Well, don't let a little bit of praise go to your head." Came the retorted reply. "But if you're so smart, then let's settle this with our brains?"

"Very well." Knowledge replied confidently, and with more than just a bit of relief.

"Good." Happy sighed, letting a little smile cross her lips. She could sense her Beastie was unhurt, and she was sure Raven's smart part would quickly defeat Rage.

"Bummer." Rude spoke, picking her nose. "I wanted to see more fighting."

"I'll give you a riddle. Solve it and I'll disappear for the day. Otherwise I don't." Rage grinned at her outmatched foe.

"Fine. But it has to be a real riddle." _I'm not letting her get away with something like asking how much change she has in her pocket. K_nowledge grinned at having outwitted her foe. _Of course we're emoticlones, so we don't have change, or any sort of money for that matter. _She mused._  
_

"Fine, fine." Rage muttered. _As if it matters. _She though confidently, with utter disregard for her foe's wit. Looking up at the yellow sky, she pretended to give it some thought before asking her riddle.

"It never goes airborne, yet, still, it may land." The red-clad half-demon spoke confidently.

"Hrm." Knowledge gulped as she struggled to come up with the answer. The book she carried showed her everything Raven did, so she had to know any riddle that Rage did. Still, it took her a while. "A punch." She finally remarked in relief.

"Wrong. A bird." Rage snickered with faked glee.

"No it's not. It's a punch." Knowledge retorted, angry that her now defeated foe would try to get away with such a despicable trick.

"Bird." The red-clad figure stared idly up at the sky, and darkly whistled as if amused.

"A punch." Yelled the yellow-clad girl.

"Bird."

"Punch."

"Bird."

"Punch."

They went back and forth, until Rage stepped up and punched the girl, who'd been too busy looking through the book for the answer to notice that her foe had been slowly getting closer and closer.

"Not often someone actually asks me to punch them." The lips of the demonic girl turned up in a rare smile.

"Woot!" Rude clapped in glee. "That'll teach old four-eyes."

Rage turned to look at the orange-clad girl who was Raven's less well-mannered aspect with four, crimson-red, eyes.

"Oops. Ah." Rude gulped. "I meant her, not you." She took off running for her life as if hell itself was behind her.

_If she wanted to get away quick. _Rage mused. _Why didn't she just teleport?_ With another sigh, she turned to face her last foe; Happy.

"I want my Beastie back." The girl quivered. She'd been so sure he would soon be safe, but now she was his last hope. Sloth she knew wouldn't do anything, and Timid was ... Well, Timid was Timid; a lot of fun when she could be convinced to play, but this was a fight. "I want my Beastie back." She repeated, making two fists that would've made a five-year old kid laugh.

"Sure, sure. I'm bored with him anyway." Rage waved towards the barrier. "He's all yours." She told the happy-go-lucky girl who ran to save her Beastie.

"Idiot." Rage sighed, having sucker-punched the girl as she'd mindlessly ran too close to the half-demon in order to reach the barrier.

"Don't hurt BB."

The words were spoken in a tone that one could barely call a whisper, yet Rage turned to look at the speaker. "Hey Timid." She greeted the girl as pleasantly as she could with her dark, and demonic, sounding voice.

"Don't hurt BB." There was determination in the words, even if the girl did violently tremble with fear.

"Don't worry. He's okay. And I won't really hurt him." The red-clad girl sadly gazed back at the only emoticlone she respected; the only one, other than Raven, who was as powerful as she herself. "I pinky swear." She added, raising her hand with her pinky finger extended. "He'll be okay." She gave another one of her rare smiles; the gray-clad girl was also the only one she could relate too, and despite her demonic nature it made her feel close to her. Her heart raced a little as Timid shakily raised her own hand, with her pinky finger extended.

Seeing the girl vanish once again behind a tree, Rage turned back to her barrier. She blinked. The shape shifter was nowhere to be seen, nor could her empathic senses detect a single sign of him. She gave a dark, rumbling sigh, and took to the air. If her prey had even an ounce of sense, there was only one place he would be heading for; the forbidden door. And she was pretty sure, despite Raven's numerous claims to the contrary, that he had more than his fair share of common sense. Reaching out with her empathic senses, she scanned the land, and finally spotted a small, swiftly moving form. She gave chase.

End of Chapter.

* * *

The riddle "It never goes airborne, yet, still, it may land." (ans: a punch), came from the riddlesbrainteasers site, where it was posted by Sef Daystrom. Given Rage's tendency to settle matters with a punch, I though it appropriate. I could never come up with a riddle that good on my own.

Wow, this chapter was way longer, and had way more action scenes, than planned. Still, in retrospect Rage had a lot of foes to handle.

Many thanks to those who read and review


	5. Chapter 5

**I do NOT own Teen Titans**

_Comments and replies to reviews:_

_Yeah. Rage and the emoticlones are a bit weird, but there is a reason why she would feel close to Timid that will be explained._

* * *

_**Calculus (Argh!),... Timid,... Freedom,... Rage's Offer,... Timid's Maze,... The Forbidden Door,... Why Raven's A Hero,...**_

Raven quickly worked her way through several math problems on algebra, finding the test to be childish simple. _At least something is going right. _She told herself, still holding one hand to her forehead. Inside she knew a number of her emoticlones had just received agonizing headaches, and it was being reflected in her own body. "_Or they will have headaches when they wake up." _She softly muttered, knowing three or four of them had been knocked unconscious. _It has to be Rage going on one of her damn fighting sprees. _She sighed, wishing she could strangle the offender. _Then again, it could be Brave. If Rude got her riled up she may be on the warpath. _The blue-clad girl paused in her work to decide what she would do in that case. _Heck, I'll just strange the culprit, whoever it is; that'll teach them._

Coming to the last problem on the page, she flipped it over and paused. _What the heck is calculus? _The girl asked herself, looking at all the weird symbols. _Hmm. I may be in trouble here. _She admitted with some reluctance. _At least it seems like they've stopped fighting, so the headache won't get any worse. But I wonder how Beast Boy is faring? If Knowledge is one of the ones who got knocked out he's not going to get much tutoring time in today. Knowing him, he'll probably just flay fetch with Happy or something. _She sighed again, and then, despite the headache, supressed a smile. _I can just see him now doing something silly. Like maybe talking to himself, saying,' fetch one stick for Happy, read one sentence from a book, fetch one stick for Happy...' Yeah, that's what he would be doing. _A tiny smile escaped her lips, yet an icy chill ran down her spine.

* * *

As Rage disappeared in the distance, Timid wondered what to do. _Rage promised. _She told herself. _And she always keeps her pinky promises to me. _Yet something inside her warred between the idea of chasing after BB, and staying to help her friends. There was always the eternal need to hide in her labyrinth of stone, but even she knew now wasn't the time for that. With a low sigh, the gray-clad girl crept out from behind the tree she'd used as shelter.

It took her a second to decide whether to help Happy first, or Affection. They were the two who were always the nicest to her with never a mean word. Realizing spending too much time thinking would take longer than just choosing one and helping them, she picked the closest. Soon Happy was made comfortable with a pleasant smelling pillow of pink grass; her cloak was then spread out over her. That done, the girl moved on to Affection. Then Knowledge and Brave.

"Why does Rage treat you so different?" Sloth asked, after she'd helped the timid emoticlone prepare the pillows. Sure, she wore a dirty brown cloak and was far from hygienic, but she did care for the other aspects of Raven; they were, after all, the only friends she had or, for that matter, ever would have. But with that done she now stared with some curiosity at the only one of them the infamous emoticlone of destruction never picked on, or even said a mean word to.

"Eeep!" Squeaked Timid, as she realized one of the others had talked to her. Immediately, without hesitation, she dashed for the illusionary protection of the nearest tree. Once there, safely out of sight, she faded into the ground, having teleported in search of BB. Much as the cool comfort of her maze called to her, she wanted to know what Rage was up to. Sure her friend had pinky swore, but that same friend was behaving strangely of late. And, if she really, really, really, really had to, she would intervene to protect BB.

"Typical." Muttered Sloth, who decided to lie down and take a nap beside the others. She figured the war party would be out of commission for a while.

* * *

Relief had flooded Beast Boy when he saw Brave rush up. It'd been short-lived. When Knowledge had appeared, with the others behind her, that sense of relief had again washed over him. That had lasted all of a minute before he'd grasped the obviously; the calvary was out classed, and out matched. He'd realized if anyone was going to save him, it was going to have to be him.

Even though Rage was distracted by the others, the barrier around him was still standing. The calm, if nervous, shape shifter knew trying to break it would definitely draw the attention of the overwhelmingly confident emoticlone. Which left sneaking around it, or this case under it. Taking a risk, he turned into an earthworm, and started tunneling to find he'd been right; the dome of dark magic didn't extend beneath the ground.

Moving as fast as he could, the boy soon ate his way through the dirt to freedom. He'd emerged just as Rage had brutally taken poor Happy down. That'd ended the fight, which left him with a dilemma. He could either try to help the others, or make a dash for the forbidden door. Seeing Rage had lost interest in battering her fellow emoticlones into various colors of paste, he'd chosen the latter. _It's best to just report this to Raven. _The green-skinned Titan decided and, in the form of a humming-bird, he raced for the exit. _She'll know how to handle this better than I would._

* * *

Teleporting to the swiftly moving form of the shape shifter, Rage tried to contain him within a barrier again. It should've been easy, but the green-skinned Titan was now gravely aware of the danger, and he proved almost as adept at evading those attempts as he had her more direct attacks. Playing with him was proving to be interesting, even if she hadn't managed to get a kiss. _Which reminds me. _The dark aspect mused. _Pinky swear or not, he's still got to pay for that trick. _She grinned. It was the sort of trick she would've played if she'd could've, and within her she felt the part of her driven by lust start to take over again. _I'll give him another chance before I hurt him. _The happy, and amorous, demon decided. _Surely he'll see the reason in just a tiny kiss in order to avoid a mountain of pain._

Sure of herself, Rage focused and created another barrier that should've safely contained the shape shifter for her amusement. Once again, the annoying pest somehow managed to predict her actions, and in that irritatingly nimble form of his, he somehow barely managed to be just outside of the sphere she'd created.

Growling a little, the demonic emoticlone tried again, and then again. "How long do you think you can keep this up?" She asked.

_Long enough. I hope... _The humming-bird thought as it carefully studied his foe's body language. The movement of the arms told him she was about to try again. The shape shifter focused his attention on the eyes of the demon, even as he also studied the movement of her fingers. The brain of the small bird had evolved with the need to maneuver at high speeds between the branches of trees, and other objects, even as it remained on the lookout for predators; as such, its thought were lightning fast compared to those of the girl who faced him. Beast Boy himself couldn't tell what gave the attack away, but reflexively his wings grabbed the air, turning his forward momentum into a turn that barely kept him from being ensnared again.

"Aarrgghh." Rage screamed. "How are you doing that?" She demanded as her hands rose again, and her eyes focused.

_Actually, even I'm not sure. _Beast Boy thought, as his brain automatically flexed, and sent commands to his wings. It was akin to the shock of touching a hot stove. You don't think about pulling your hand away, you just do it.

"You can't escape you know. And I'm even willing to forget and forgive." Rage spoke, trying to sound reasonable. "For a price of course." She added.

_Let me guess. A kiss. _The shape shifter mused, wishing he could actually take the offer. _She's sort of cute, and I bet it would be one really good kiss. _He pondered the image that rose in his mind._ She's passionate. A kiss with her would be incredible. _He thought, nearly drooling. Barely evading another black sphere that nearly trapped him, he mentally cursed. _Focus. _The boy commanded, pushing aside thoughts of kissing the woman who attempted to bar his escape.

* * *

Even as they've played their game, they'd slowly drawn closer and closer to the door that led from Happy's realm to that of Timid's. "Time to play my trump card_._" Rage loudly admitted with a dark, and demonic sigh. Sending forth her mind, she placed a barrier around the portal, securely barring the exit.

"I'm not letting you leave." The emoticlone stated darkly.

It took the shape shifter all of half a second, with his thoughts moving at humming-bird speed, to plot his next move. He rose slightly into the air, where he began to circle the woman. Wings blurring, he moved with an agility few creatures of any domain could hope to match.

"What are you doing?" Rage asked, turning around to follow her prey. The shape shifter continued to circle her, and she continued to turn. Noting the fact he was making a perfect circle each time, she tried to capture him within a sphere of her dark magic, even as she kept the portal blocked. She turned, and cast forth her magic time and time again. Always she was annoyingly close, and the near successes drove her on. "You're mine." She yelled hopefully several times.

It was nearly five minutes later that the no longer quite so optimistic emoticlone paused, almost falling from the air. "Whoa." She said in a voice that was less demonic than usual. Staggering, she blinked and realized she was beyond dizzy; that the circling had been a trick which she'd walked right into to. _The only thing I'm in shape for right now. _The red-clad figure groaned. _Is puking. _Still, she kept the barrier over the portal in place.

_Now. _Beast Boy though, and his wings blurred even faster as he hurled towards his foe. For a split second he was a five-ton elephant that hit the queasy woman at sixty miles per hour, then he was past her in the form of a humming-bird again. The barrier over the portal wavered, and disappeared.

* * *

"Whoa." Rage groaned again a few minutes later. Feeling like she'd been hit by Trigon himself, she staggered to her feet. The portal she realized was no longer blocked, and that the shape shifter had most likely gone through. A seldom felt sense of dread gripped her heart. The forbidden door was called the forbidden door for a reason, but the shape shifter wouldn't know about that. In a panic, she passed through the gateway that led to Timid's domain.

Within the stone labyrinth she found herself in, Rage cringed. This was Timid's realm, and here there was one rule that was absolute. You had to go through the maze. There was no going over it, and there was no blasting through the walls. For all her power, that rule applied even to Raven herself. When she entered the mirror, she could choose to enter at any point she wished, except the maze. And once inside those walls of unbreakable stone, to get out even that mistress of dark magic had to go through it.

There was a good reason for that rule. The doorway out could also be a doorway in, as Trigon himself had proven. Back then, for all his power that labyrinth had held him at bay. Too large to enter, he couldn't try to solve it. And for all his power, the stone of the maze could never be broken.

_Or, at least, I've never seen anything that could break it. _Rage mused, recalling how those walls had held the demon that had possessed her from attacking Raven's inner mind. Without that defense Trigon would have swept all before him, gaining control before the blue-clad girl could've reacted. She would've arrived to find Rage possessed, and the rest of the emoticlones dead. There would've been no assembling them to combine their power, and there would've been no stopping their father.

Pushing the memory from her mind, Rage sent her empathic senses out, searching for the shape shifter. She had to get to him before he reached the forbidden door. Spotting him, the panic within her rose; he was making his way through the labyrinth with astonishing speed. _Can he really remember the route from the few times he's been through it. _The fearful girl wondered, as she herself started to race through the convoluted mass of turns and dead ends.

* * *

_A tunnel is just a tunnel, even if it has no roof. _Beast Boy mused, as he quickly scurried through the maze as a mole rat.

Arriving at the end, he returned to his human form to stare at the forbidden door. Safety was just feet away, and he rushed towards it, not knowing when Rage might appear. _Also, once I'm out. _He mused. _I can think about that kiss, and how much I'll regret not taking her up on that offer. _The shape shifter sighed, knowing he could never betray Raven like that, no matter what. _But I can dream about it. _He decided.

Distracted with his thoughts he failed to see the eyes of the two statues guarding the exit turn to follow him. As he stepped towards the forbidden door, they drew close together before merging into one colossal stone beast that had a serious frown on its face, and two deadly looking swords that glowed red in two of its four massive hands.

For all its size, the guardian moved swiftly, slicing at the boy from two directions. Nothing large could've evaded that attack, so the shape shifter went small. He became a fly, who was knocked aside by the air the two deadly weapons drove before them. Still, the blades nearly touched him, and the arcane energies within them coursed through his body. Resuming his human form, he slumped to the floor, dazed. The fiery looking weapons instantly arched up, before plummeting down at his unmoving form.

* * *

"Azarath! Metrion! Zinthos!" Rage screamed, calling on all the power she could. She'd arrived to see the shape shifter fall to the floor, and had barely had the time to yell the mantra before the two blazing swords began their downward swing. More power than she'd ever used before flowed through her, forming a barrier between the unmoving boy and the deadly weapons. The barrier shattered, nearly useless against the power of those demonic blades. Still, it'd bought some time as they rose once more, only to plunge downward again.

Still stunned, Beast Boy saw the weapons rise, knowing that when they turned to lash at him again he would die. Desperately focusing, he became a cheetah that lunged for the stone arch that was the forbidden door. The super-fast cat crossed the distance in less than a fifth a second, only to roll through to the other side as the portal failed to open. Still dazed, the great feline crashed to the ground, hitting it head. Once again in his human form, Beast Boy laid there unconscious as the guardian turned towards him.

Panicking, knowing her own power couldn't avert those demonic blades a second time, Rage did the only thing she could. "Timid." She yelled desperately at the top of her lungs, praying the gray-clad emoticlone was close by; that she'd followed them.

* * *

Raven continued to study the incomprehensible symbols that seemed to compose much of this new animal called calculus. _I'll come back to it. _She decided, and skipped to the next page which, to her relief, was on English. It was a subject she should be able to get through with ease.

Then, as she started to read the first question a wave of dizziness washed over her. _By Azarath. _The girl mentally swore as she slumped forward, barely managing to stay in her seat. One of her emoticlones had just called on a great deal of power and, since there was only one body for the nine of them, she'd felt it too. _What was that about? _She wondered with more than a little frustration and worry. If she failed this test it would be six months before she could try again. Sure it wasn't that big of a deal, but still...

_It had to be either Rage or Timid. _She thought, trying to work through the situation. _None of the others can use that sort of power_. _But Timid doesn't fight, and Rage would never call on Azarath.. She hates it almost as much as she hates Trigon. So what's going on? _The blue-clad Titan wondered, feeling a sense of panic. _And why today of all days? If I rush to my mirror, I throw this test._

"Are you okay?"

The voice distracted her, causing her to jump a little as she looked up. It was the woman giving the test, looking at her with worry plainly written on her face..

"Let me guess. You stayed up all night cramming, and now you're at your limit." The woman gave her a kind smile. "There's always some who do that? I've even had a few of them faint on me." The woman continued to observe her with a frown. "If you want I can always have someone get you something to drink. Coffee? Or a soda?"

Raven shook her head as, for some reason, she felt a little pleased. _This is what makes the world worth saving. _She realized. _It's no longer just about the prophecy, I've grown pass that. It's about people like her. Those who're kind even when they don't have to be. It's about those who care, and making sure they're safe._

Rising from her seat, she sighed sadly. "I've got to go." She told the woman. "It seems something has come up, and I got to get back to the Tower. I'll see you in six months." With that, she teleported to the school roof where she took to the air. Even if there was one chance in a million, or even one in a tillion, that Beast Boy was in danger then she had no choice.

Inside the blue-clad girl cringed, and cursed herself. _If Beast Boy gets hurt just because I wanted to take a stupid test ... _With a deepening sense of panic, Raven flew through the air.

End of Chapter.

* * *

A lot of questions about the emoticlones will be answered in the next chapter.

Many thanks to those who read and review


	6. Chapter 6

**I do NOT own Teen Titans**

* * *

_**Raven,... Timid's Maze(The Forbidden Passage),... Raven,... Timid at the Forbidden Door,... Regrets,...**_

The blue-clad girl ascended into the sky, plotting a direct course for the Tower. With the icy chill still sending shivers down her back, and a sense of dread clutching at her heart, she struggled to remain calm. _It's just Rage. _She told herself. _But Rage would never call on Azarath. _Came the immediately counter reply. _Sure she would. _Came the counter counter reply._ If she knew it would cause me trouble she most definitely would. But how would she know? _Raven considered that for a moment. _She's not dumb. She would know the test was important, and she would know I was about to take it. In fact, I bet that's why she was hanging around Beast Boy so much. It wasn't him she was interested in but Knowledge. She would've known I was about the take the test from her behavior, and decided to make trouble. That's what happened. _

Raven focused on calming her pounding heart, and keeping the panic from showing on her face. "I'll just have a little talk with that monster." She decided aloud. "Meaning I'll pound her into tomorrow." There was a long pause as she focused on the Tower in the distance. "Well, okay. Maybe I won't actually beat her up." The empath amended. "I'll just make sure she doesn't do it again." _And since when did I start talking to myself? _A small smile broke free on her lips. _Since I let Beast Boy use Knowledge as a personal Tutor. _A warm feeling rose inside her, but still there was that dark sense of dread.

Still not quite convinced everything was okay, the worried girl tried to speed her flight towards the Tower. It was then that she knew things were definitely not okay. Her power left her, and she fell from the sky.

* * *

With her sorely defeated friends made comfortable, Timid had went in search of Rage and BB. Unlike the younger emoticlones, who had yet to fully learn how to use their power, she had no trouble. Her empathic senses automatically reached out, searching the whole of Happy's domain and pinpointing the presence of everything within it. To her surprise her friend was at the entrance to her labyrinth. _Why there? _She questioned, and with it being her nature, she took a few seconds to ponder the situation.

Then came the thought. _Where's BB? _Once again her mind reached out, encompassing the whole of the pink-filled realm. There was no sign of him, and the sense of apprehension that was always within her increased. Gulping, she wished Hope was there to handle things. Resisting her nature to pause, and think things over a thousand time, she teleported to where she'd seen Rage, only to find she'd already entered the maze.

_Not good. _The gray-clad emoticlone whispered silently to herself. Sending her mind into the labyrinth, she saw BB was within it, racing towards the forbidden door. Rage wasn't far behind, moving at a speed that suggested something was wrong. She'd never seen her friend race like that; the red-clad emoticlone always radiated a sense of confidence that negated the very concept that she might ever need to rush, or hurry. Her demonic sister never panicked, but that was what she sensed now, fear and dread.

Timid entered her domain, disappearing as she did so. The color of her cloak shifted to match the walls, rendering her nearly invisible to sight, while her mind wrapped a barrier around her that blocked empathic senses. She didn't like attention, not usually, and had had a great deal of practice at remaining unseen. This she did without thought or effort, even as she pondered the situation.

_I have to hurry. _The girl reluctantly admitted to herself, knowing there was no way she could catch up with either of the other two; at least not with speed alone. But she'd designed this place, and then built it stone by stone. She alone could break the walls, but she realized even doing that would take too long. The maze twisted and turned upon itself. To speed her way to its end like that she would have to pass through thirteen walls, breaking each; even for her that would not be easy.

Timid watched as Beast Boy exited the far side of the maze, with Rage just seconds behind him. She needed to get there now. _There's no time. _The girl thought, cringing. _I have to hurry, and that leaves only ... _Forcing herself to go against her nature, the gray-clad emoticlone ceased to ponder each move a thousand times over, and just moved.

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." She quietly chanted, as her mind reached down to shatter the stone beneath her feet, allowing her to drop into the forbidden passages. Anyone who entered the labyrinth would have to find the path through, and that would take time. From these tunnels, positions within the maze were linked, allowing any defenders to outflank the attackers. That meant Timid, even if trapped behind those attackers, could quickly move in front of them to seal the passage. They were to be used only as a last resort; she alone knew of the forbidden passages, and had meant for it to always remain that way.

Ten seconds later she was at the end of the labyrinth, having levitated to fly through the narrow passage at reckless speed. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." The girl managed to gasp out, calling on the power she needed to break the stone above her. Her head ached, and she was having trouble breathing. Defying her nature was starting to take its toll.

Trembling, Timid levitated to rise through the broken floor. As she stepped out of the labyrinth she heard Rage call her name; a desperate plea of the sort she'd never heard her friend make before.

* * *

Raven fell, then caught herself when the loss of power lasted for only a brief instance. Within her mind she screamed in panic. _That was Timid! Using power like that! Why? _She gasped, and continued her course with the sense of dread having now become full-blown panic. Even when Trigon had attacked through Rage, the second eldest of the emoticlones had merely barred the way without attacking; even then, she hadn't drawn on that sort of power. She'd merely waited until Raven had entered Nevermore to take charge.

_What's going on? _The half-demon empath screamed. Then the loss of power came again, then again and again. Each time she fell closer to the ground.

Raven gulped, and spread her cloak to slow her fall. Timid, she knew, could _always _see and hear what she was doing; she had to know she was flying and that falling would be very, very painful. For her to call on that sort of power now, at such a time, was ... It made no sense. Then the sense of weakness came again, then again.

* * *

"Azarath! Metrion! Zinthos!" Rage screamed again, but no surge of energy came. Not that it would've mattered. Those demonic blades of arcane power were designed to destroy any magical shield that opposed them, and there was no way she could create another barrier to hold them at bay. Then an indescribable sound rang out, causing her to fall to the ground. It'd spoke of an unstoppable force clashing with an unmovable object, and it'd been like nothing she'd ever heard before. She looked up, expecting to see BB, who she'd only wanted to kiss and never really harm, sliced into three pieces. She nearly closed her eyes, and gulped in relief at what she saw. He was still whole, with the air around him shimmering in a fashion that reminded of her of the grey stone of Timid's labyrinth.

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." Timid quietly spoke, reinforcing the barrier that held those deadly blades at bay. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." Came the barely uttered words once more, as the flaming weapons rose for another strike. Within her, she felt strange. No longer did she feel the need to pause to rethink every decision and every move. Rather her thoughts flowed like quicksilver, precise and swift. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." She uttered the mantra once again, calling on the power that was rightfully hers.

Each time those deadly blades rose and fell, the chamber rang with a sound that made the ground tremble, and, in places, crack. Rage tried to stand, to pull BB to safety, but each time the backlash of two unstoppable swords clashing against unbreakable stone resonated through her, throwing her back to the ground.

Within her mind Timid saw Raven in flight, falling a little each time she called on Azarath to reinforce her shield of stone. There was a limit to how long she could keep this up before the ground rose to rip the blue-clad girl from the air.

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." The girl spoke again, watching as the floor of the chamber cracked beneath the next onslaught of those arcane weapons. If she didn't do something soon BB would fall through the floor.

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." Power poured from her, reinforcing her barrier, even as she noted that Rage was unable to help pull the shape shifter to safety. That would've been best. Her shield to hold the swords at bay, while her friend yanked BB away from the guardian.

The grey-clad girl, who now blazed with a dark energy that seemed to flow from her, stepped further into the chamber. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." She chanted, knowing if she called on that power three more times then Raven would hit the ground. She couldn't afford to reinforce that stone barrier again; instead, she had to attack. Once that would've impossible for her to even consider, now though she merely accepted the need.

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." She spoke the mantra softly, feeling power flood her whole being. She sent it against the stone guardian, doing no damage, but succeeding in her plan to blast it several feet away from the boy she'd decided to protect.

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." The girl spoke again, knowing it was the last time. The energy poured into her, boosting her speed and strength to unimaginable levels. This was the adrenaline surge of a demon. Blurring with speed, she crossed the distance to BB even as the guardian recovered, and raised those deadly swords to strike again. Her hand touched the boy who she flung with superhuman strength backwards to crash into Rage. Had she misaimed his body would've shattered against the cold stone of her labyrinth.

The swords now came for her, one high and one low. She pivoted on her left foot, twisting around the stone guardian with a move that made her seem to disappear, and then instantly reappear. Before her foe could turn to attack, she fled to the safety of the labyrinth. Behind her the being that'd nearly killed the shape shifter froze, and, with no one trying to pass through the forbidden door, separated into two statues; one on each side of the portal.

Rage, desperately trying to rise again, felt the impact of the boy against her. As he started to fall to the ground, she caught him as gently as she could, trying not to hurt him more than she'd already done so. Within her, arose something she'd rarely felt, regret. She'd never meant to really hurt him, just fulfill the need that drove her. She'd never meant for it to turn out this way. Looking up she saw Timid still battling the guardian, and for a second she thought her friend was dead. She started to move, to place the boy on the ground, and futilely race to help; then her friend deftly avoided her fate with an impossible move, and was beside her.

"I'll take him back to Happy's domain." She spoke, trying to suppress tears. She'd never needed to do that before; demon's didn't cry.

For a second Timid was unsure of what to do. Once more her nature was turning to one of caution and introspection that demanded she consider, and then reconsider, every move she made. "Wait here." She finally spoke, placing a hand against her friend to stop her.

"He'll feel better if he wakes up with Knowledge and Happy there. Not me." Rage started to explain, just as a hand made of steel suddenly grabbed her and held her in place.

"Wait here." Timid repeated, her voice quavering. "Sit and make sure he's okay." She managed to gasp out. "Don't move from this spot."

She understood. It wasn't a suggestion, it was a command from one older and more powerful than her. She sat, holding the shape shifter in her lap. Gently she checked him for wounds, letting her mind, for a brief second, merge with his body. "He'll be okay." The red-clad emoticlone finally sighed in relief. A tear actually managed to escape her control to run down her cheek. Softly, she ran her hand through his hair, wondering if she would ever see him after this. Undoubted Raven would bar him from Nevermore forever. And it would be her fault. The others would hate her for it, and she would hate herself. Another tear escaped her control. Then another. The demonic aspect of Raven wept.

"Stay here." Timid told the weeping girl. She blinked at the tears her friend was weeping, but somehow she wasn't surprised. She felt like weeping too, but then she often did; still, this was different. Her heart skipped a beat as she glanced at the green-skinned Titan, and then turned away. She had two hole in the floor of the labyrinth to fix before anyone saw them. Even during the fight she'd kept an eye on her domain, and was sure no one had found them. She could fix them, and the secret would still be safe. The cautious, grey-clad girl hurried to do just that.

* * *

Rage sat holding the boy in her arms, with his head resting against her. For a while she carefully studied his face, remembering every detail. Soon, she knew, it would be all she would have. A memory. She was tempted to kiss him, to take what she so desperately wanted, yet something held her back. _Even for me, it wouldn't be right. _The half-demon admitted with regret, hating the human part of her that held things like morals and ethics.

Though her empathic senses proved useless, something told her Timid was back. She looked up to see the emoticlone watching her and the boy. "Sit." She told her friend, pointing to the other side of the still unconscious shape shifter.

The face of the cautious emoticlone turned red, and she took a step back.

"Sit." Now it was Rage's turn to order the timid girl around, though she had no authority other than that of a friend. "Sit." She said again. "Raven won't allow him to come back here ever again, and this will be the last time we'll get to see him." Reaching out, she gave the blushing emoticlone a yank that pulled her down beside the changeling. With a hint of her old mischievousness, she drew her reluctant friend in close with the still unconscious boy.

"Gaaa." Was all the embarrassed girl could think to say. Still, she had to admit it felt nice, so, for some reason she couldn't fully understand, she allowed herself to be pulled closer. Feeling strangely warm and comfortable, she didn't resist until she was practically cuddling with the boy. _This. _She thought. _Is wonderful. _Without going through the thousand and one steps of considering, and reconsidering, what to do, the grey-clad girl let her head rest again Beast Boy's shoulder. "Wow!"She quietly gasped, with a smile.

End of Chapter.

* * *

Why shouldn't Timid get to shine once in a while?

Next chapter will describe just what an emoticlone is in this story.

Many thanks to those who read and review


	7. Chapter 7

**I do NOT own Teen Titans**

_Comments and replies to reviews:_

_*** There's a legend of what the emoticlones represent at the end of the chapter that might help any confusion. (Heck, I changed it around so much, I know I'm confused.)_

_Describing what an emoticlone is in this story is proving to be quite the challenge. Pages of dialogue with little action. Sorry if you find this chapter rather boring. I'm out of my depth with what I wanted do, hence the legend, and cutting back on what I'd planned. if you think I messed up, let me know._

* * *

_**Raven Rolls her Eyes,... Beast Boy Wakes Up,... The Guardian,... Talk of Timid and Raven,... Raven Returns,...**_

Raven rolled her eyes upward, or downward, depending on your perspective. During her downward plunge she'd started to fall head first, and was now suspended in the air around two feet above an extremely sharp-looking steel pole, which made up a part of a safety fence on the sturdy-looking concrete roof, of a fifteen-story building. _Close. _The sweating girl mentally intoned, feeling anything but calm. Immediately she moved to settle down on the safety of the solid-looking, concrete surface, eyes still on the sharp rod that would've... She gulped, and closed those eyes to remove that image from her mind.

Then, as within her labyrinth Timid rushed to fix the two holes she'd made in the floor of her maze, Raven felt that sense of weakness again. She dropped the last foot to the roof, nearly cursing as she did so. _I'm going to kill someone. _She decided. _Maybe a lot of someones. I just know Beast Boy had something to do with this._ Fuming, she turned to find the stairs. There was no way she was risking flying again, and it was too far to teleport. _Perhaps I'll just kill them all. _She mused, fist clenched with the image of that steel pole still in her mind, with her impaled head-first on it. She gulped, with murder in her eyes as she stomped towards the exit.

* * *

_Mmmmm. _Beast Boy quietly sighed to himself, as he slowly regained consciousness. He was aware of being warm and comfortable, which was weird when the last thing he could remember was ... The green-skinned Titan frowned. _Why didn't I end up back at the Tower? _He wondered. _And why do I feel so good when my head is killing me? _Slowly, with great caution, he opened his eyes to peer around. Looking down, her saw Timid was cuddled up against him with, of all things, a smile on her face.

"Careful." A dark voice whispered in his ear. "She doesn't often sleep like that. In fact I've never seen her so happy. Let her enjoy it." There was a pause. "Please." Rage begged.

"What happened?" He whispered back, stunned that the half-demon would ever lower herself to using the 'P' word. "Why did the statues attack? And why didn't I end up back in the Tower?" It was only then that he realized he must be resting against the red-clad emoticlone. He was half sitting, and it certain wasn't her stomach that felt so soft to his battered head. He gulped, turning red.

"Well." The emoticlone started, still darkly whispering in a demonic tone. "Recall the first time you were here? When I was possessed by Trigon?"

"Yeah." The boy paused in thought. "They attacked then too. But not like that." He shuddered, as he recalled the sheer speed and power that the statue had moved with.

Rage let her chin rest against the boy's head, and smiled when she felt him tense. She gave a little sigh before she started to explain. "Well. I, or rather Trigon, had pretty much wrecked things around the forbidden door by then. He hit them with a spell that negated their magic, but by the time you and Cyborg got there they'd just regained enough to move a little." There was a slight grin in the demonic voice as she finished with, "Trust me. If they hadn't been already weakened, Brave wouldn't have been able to touch them, let alone beat them."

"But why did they attack this time? I though that first time must've had something to do with Trigon being there." _This is way too comfortable. _Beast Boy gulped.

"No. Only Raven is allowed out of here. The Guardian is meant to keep us in, as well as others out. When you approached the door without Raven with you they just tried to fulfill their duty."

"Oh." He tried to move his head away from that incredible softness, but found a red-clad arm held him in place.

"Doing that might wake Timid." Rage explained in a pleading tone.

"Oh. Okay. But if Raven sees this it'll be the end of the world all over again." Beast Boy gulped, face still red.

"Hehe. Probably. But I'll take the blame."

"Is that why the portal didn't open?" He asked the question again.

"No. I'm guessing Raven placed the mirror face down. That would've blocked the exit." There was a slight laugh. "Talk about bad luck, but you know, I'm not complaining. If you'd got out then I wouldn't have got to see Timid like this." There was a sigh of contentment. "She looks like she's at peace."

"Oh." He sighed. "She does." He admitted. "And thanks for saving me."

"Don't thank me. That was Timid's doing." Came the rumbled reply.

"Her? How?" There was surprise in his voice.

"She's the second eldest, and ... Well, lets just say in here that makes a big difference. Only Raven can match her in terms of power."

Beast Boy let the words sink in. "But..." He managed to gulped, before pausing to think. "But, wouldn't that make Raven the eldest?" He finally asked. "You talk as if she's an emoticlone as well. And wouldn't you've been all born at the same time? When Raven was? And if Timid's so powerful, why is she so ... Well, timid?"

"Good questions." Rage mused aloud. "And since I nearly got you killed I'll answer. I mean, Raven is already going to kill me anyway, so what harm can it do?"

"Will she?" The green-skinned Titan gulped.

"Nay. She'll just go on a major rant. It's fun to get her worked up." The red-clad girl paused to enjoy the sensation of having Beast Boy in her arms, and to wonder how to start. "What's an emoticlone?" She finally asked. With her eyes filled with mischievousness, she then blew on the perky ear that was so close.

"One of Raven's emotions!" Beast Boy practically yelped, eyes wide.

"Not quite." Rage giggled a little at the boy's response. "That's a part of it, but just sort of." She continued. "Think about Knowledge. Is knowledge an emotion? Or sloth or rudeness for that matter?"

"Well... Hrm, technically no." He admitted. "So you're not her emotions?"

"Each emoticlone has three aspects." Rage started to explain. "One or more emotions is one of them. For example, Knowledge might be better called Curiosity, which is an emotion, but she also represent Raven's intellectual side.. Happy represents her sense of well-being, which can range from being sad to being just that, happy. Brave can be a coward at times, but is usually just recklessly courageous. I would call her rash, but it more fun to just insult her and see her get worked up. She's represents Raven's sense of nobility, and is easily offended. That sense of nobility usually keeps the coward side in check."

"Isn't Timid supposed to be the part of her that represent sadness?" The green-skinned Titan looked down at the girl who was still cuddled up to him, tightly clutching his right arm.

"No." She went to blow on his ear again.

"Stop that." The boy gasped. "Please." _I wish she would keep it up. _He admitted to himself. _But... _

"Bleh. Okay." The demonic girl relented with obvious reluctance.

"What does Timid represent then? You said emoticlones had three aspects, and one was emotions?"

"Yeah. Her emotions would range from feeling timid, to feeling assertive, though we don't see the latter much. You might also think of her as Caution. She's always thinking, and on the lookout for danger. That's part of the reason why she appears so timid and, I think, one of the reasons why she apologizes so much. She's trying to defuse any conflicts before they happen." Rage gave a grin. "She's having mixed success with that. I think so much apologizing just makes people angrier."

"She does sometimes have that affect." Beast Boy admitted with a small smile of his own, as he continued to stare down at the sleeping girl. _She really does look happy. _He mused, content to let her rest on his arm for a while.

"I know what you really really want to ask." Rage said with a hint of laughter in her dark voice.

He sighed. "What emotion is Raven? Though I'm not sure I should actually ask. It feels like I'm invading her privacy."

"You are. But then I don't usually have trouble with such trivial stuff." Rage gently shrugged, careful not to wake Timid. "Consider this. You're in a womb where it's warm and comfortable. You're never hungry, and you can always hear your mother's heart beat, so you're never alone. It's paradise. What sort of feelings might it create?"

The shape shifter paused to think. "Happiness, but that would be with Happy. Hrm. I would feel calm and content." He decided. "I would think the world is a beautiful place and feel ... Hope?"

"Bingo." Rage gave a small cheer. "Blue Raven, eldest of the emoticlones, our dear and beloved leader, represents Hope." Her voice turned serious. "But, you know, hope swings both ways, and Raven represents the full swing of that emotional spectrum. She can feel the darkest despair as well as the brightest hope. That's where Timid comes in."

"How so?" He prompted her to continue.

"You know how she was conceived. Think of the fear her mother must've been feeling, the despair. Before she was conscious there was something that saw only the warmth and comfort. That gave birth to Hope, but she would've been an empath."

"She would've sensed the fear and the despair her mother was feeling." Beast Boy gulped.

"Precisely. And that would've caused her to feel despair, and a sense of danger, which would've caused her to also feel a need to be ..."

"A need to be cautious." Beast Boy finished with a frown. "A need to be always on the lookout for danger. Caution, or Timid, much the same thing."

"Precisely. But remember, she can also feel the full spectrum of that, so she can be assertive too. It's just that we don't see that side of her much. Actually, just now, when she had to save you was the first time. Do you know how she sleeps?"

The shape shifter shook his head. "No. But probably not well."

Rage gave a small harsh laugh. "We usually sleep when Raven does, but Timid is different. She sleeps for maybe two minutes, then wakes up to look around. She checks her labyrinth with her empathic senses, which is better than mine, and then checks Happy's domain. When she'd done she finds another place in her maze to sleep. Two minutes later she wakes up to repeat the process."

"Oh." He now knew why the red-clad girl was so insistent on letting her friend sleep, During the whole talk Timid hadn't stirred once.

The shape shifter sighed. "So Timid has a range of emotions, of which we see only one. But she has other aspects. This is confusing. Just tell me what you all represent." There was a sense of begging in his tone. "Including those other two aspects you mentioned."

"Hehe. Okay." She began to list the emoticlone.

"Blue Raven represent everything from despair to hope. Her second aspect is calmness, and she's the first-born, which mean she essentially contains the essence of what it means to be Raven. She controls our physical aspect, and she alone can leave this place."

Unable to resist, she leaned forward to blow on that ever-so-tempting ear again. When he shivered she smiled, wondering what he would do if were to nibble... _Stop that. _She commanded herself, and reluctantly pulled back to continue her speech.

"Okay." Rage darkly whispered, still trying not to wake the sleeping girl. "Timid, or gray Raven, represent everything from a sense of timidness to a sense of assertiveness. Her second aspect is caution, which makes her reconsider her actions over and over. She's the second-born, and has a third aspect that derives from the first and second; what humans call the fight or flight reflex. That makes her deadly. Mostly she's cautious and timid, but when she needs to fight that fight or flight reflex kicks in. She alone can enter a demonic adrenaline rage. That boosts her already considerable power to insane levels." There was a slight pause. "That might place her on a level with Raven if they ever fought. Not that they would. Timid would flee first unless forced into an actual fight."

"Oh." He looked down at the peacefully sleeping girl again, reconsidering what he saw.

"Ever wonder why there're only two domains?" Rage asked. "That's why? Timid, from a feeling of fear, and a need to be cautious, built the labyrinth as a defense against anything that might hurt her, or us. Other than Raven, she's the only one with the power to create her own personal dimension in here. She has that sort of power, but then she was born within seconds of Raven, so I guess it's to be expected they would be on the same level."

"But Happy's domain..."

"Was built by Raven. She let Happy design it, since she's the creative one, but the power that made it is Raven's."

"Oh."

"And there's too much blasted pink in it!" Came a none-too-happy voice.

Looking up, they saw Raven looking down at them with her fists clenched, and murder in her eyes.

"Uh oh." Rage sighed. "This might be interesting."

_Duh! _Thought Beast Boy.

End of Chapter.

* * *

EMOTICLONE LEGEND:

Each emoticlone would have three attributes. An emotional spectrum, a mental attribute other than an emotion, and an ability

In terms of oldest first:

Raven:

Emotional Spectrum: Despair to Hope.

Mental Aspect: Calmness.

Ability: Contains the essence of what is Raven, which means she controls their body, including the ability to heal.

Timid:

Emotional Spectrum: Timid to Assertive.

Mental Aspect: Caution.

Ability: Fight or Flight Reflect, give her a demonic adrenaline rage when her fight reflex kicks in.

Rage:

Emotional Spectrum: Hate to Lust (Demonic emotional spectrum.)

Mental Aspect: Killer Instinct.

Ability: Demonic Trickery (She can easily trick people.)

For the rest age doesn't matter.

Affection:

Emotional Spectrum: Hate to Love (Human emotional spectrum.)

Mental Aspect: Empathy.

Ability: Better at empathy, and settling disputes (sometimes).

Happy:

Emotional Spectrum: Sadness to Joy.

Mental Aspect: Resilience

Ability: Is creative.

Knowledge:

Emotional Spectrum: Can feel anything from disinterest to intense curiosity.

Mental Aspect: Intellience.

Ability: Intelligence makes her a better magic user, and a better planner.

Brave:

Emotional Spectrum: Fear to overwhelming Courage (aka, arrogance).

Mental Aspect: Nobility.

Ability: Easily offended, so she uses her fists a lot. An excellent fighter with those fists.

Last two aren't mentioned specifically so...

_**Many thanks to those who read and review**_


	8. Chapter 8

**I do NOT own Teen Titans**

* * *

_**Did They Do What? (Or How to Make a Bad Situation Worse),... Raven on the Warpath,... Armageddon,...**_

Raven stared, her mind in turmoil. _Had they? _She wondered, unable to fully comprehend what she was seeing? _Had they? _The girl wondered again as she gulped for air, not even sure what she was trying to ask. She would start to get a picture in her mind which would then go blank.

"Hey, Raven." Beast Boy managed to squeak.

The blue-clad girl let her disbelieving eyes roam over the trio. Timid was soundly asleep, cuddled up to the shape shifter with a smile on her face. That told her a lot. Nothing had ever made her younger sister smile like that. Nothing! So what'd happened had to be big. And that same shape shifter appeared to be relaxed comfortably in the arms of her most annoying, and not to be trifled with foe, who had her own arms held almost lovingly around his waist.

"What's going on?" She finally asked.

Rage leaned forward to blow gently on the ear that still looking so tempting to nibble on. "What does it look like, love." She purred. The half-demon knew it wasn't going to help matters, but it was in her nature.

For several seconds there was silence as Raven went into shock. Beast Boy for his part had been startled by that warm breath on his ever so sensitive ears, leaving him unable to respond to the befuddled, and murderous, girl. Timid remained soundly asleep, unaware of the catastrophe about to befall.

"What did you do to Timid?" The blue-clad girl demanded, knowing the chronically shy, and normally passive emoticlone would never willingly do such a thing. _It has to be a mistake. _She desperately thought. _He wouldn't... Not with ... _ A shudder ran through her whole body, forcing her to close her eyes as she struggled to keep the fury that engulfed her at bay.

Rage giggled a little.

"Don't" Beast Boy's eyes went wide as he knew the red-clad girl was about the make things worse; a lot worse.

"Who? Me?" The half-demon continued to giggle uncontrollably. "Believe me. She participated a full hundred percent on her own."

"Liar." Raven threw back without hesitation. That, she knew, was the nature this particular emoticlone.

Beast Boy closed his eyes, with that strong, red-clad arm, still holding him in place. _I'm so dead._

Rage shrugged, recalling the way the gray-clad girl had clung to the shape shifter. "Who would've thought she would be so eager, and forward." She giggled again, before looking up with a look of amusement on her face. "Guess you can't judge a book by its cover." The red-clad girl blinked as she started to see double, knowing she was now seeing out of the eyes of Raven as well as her own. She'd made their leader angry enough to unleash even her, Rage, who was never allowed free. _Uh oh. _She started to cringe.

Raven gulped again, knowing that with her empathic senses her most annoying enemy was telling the truth; there was no way the emoticlone could directly lie to her. Her eyes turned dark as she recalled the way she'd been nearly impaled head-first on a sharp steel post. That she'd rushed here out of worry, expecting the worse, only to find ... Black energy focused around her fists as she slowly turned to face Beast Boy.

"What do you have to say?" She managed to gasp out, resisting the ever so tempting desire to just crush him. In her mind she saw dark blades of malevolent energy reaching out to slice his delicate skin. _No one would blame me. _She decided. _No one would know._

Beast Boy closed his eyes and sighed. In a way he was much like Rage. He was a prankster by nature, and he'd finally been given a chance to get a rise out of the mysterious and dark girl who'd always intrigued him. It was too good to resist. It was even worth ... his life.

"They both incredible girls." He started. "I was hoping to marry them someday." His left hand rose to lovingly clasp the one Rage held against his waist. "We're in love."

"Gaaa." Raven's eyes went blank for a brief second before the fury in them returned, and an onslaught of dark energy reach out to wipe the trio from sight.

Rage, able to sense the oncoming wrath of the blue-clad girl, grabbed Timid and rolled out of the way. Her grip around Beast Boy remained firm, pulling him along with them.

"You insane?" She asked, glaring at the shape shifter.

"I couldn't resist." Admitted the shaken boy. He looked down at his right arm where Timid was still asleep.

"Gaaa." Raven spoke again, still unable to speak. Dark tendrils of energy flowed from her this time to seek out the three foolish enough to dare her wrath.

"Separate." Rage commanded, hoping to create three targets for the enraged girl. That Raven could feel such ... rage ... surprised her, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of respect for the emoticlone leader.

"Ouch." Beast Boy yelped, as he was thrown from the path of the tendrils. He stood in the hope that he could dodge, and maybe stay alive until his fellow Titan calmed down, only to find Timid was still clinging to his arm, asleep. He coudn't drag her along if he wanted to keep the grim reaper at bay, which left him only one option.

Realizing she now had two targets Raven paused to consider which to crush into oblivion first. The accursed Rage, or Beast Boy who was now carrying Timid.

"Why're you carrying her?" Rage asked, eyes not even flickering from her foe.

"She's still asleep and won't let go." The green-skinned Titan replied, unsure of what to do with the girl. It was hard to dodge carrying someone even as light as her; there was also the problem of where to put his hands.

_Rage. _Raven suddenly decided, reaching out to crush the emoticlone, giving no though to what would happen if she killed a part of herself.

The red-clad girl rolled out of the way again, knowing in a direct confrontation she would be toast.

"Wake up." Beast Boy begged, shaking the girl in his arms.

"Mmmmm." Came the softly whispered sigh, as the girl tightened her grip.

Despite the situation the shape shifter found himself giggling at the sight. _Given the way I strike out with girls, who would've thought they would be the death of me? _For some reason a sense of protectiveness clutched at his heart.

"You're laughing?" Raven asked, finally managing to speak. "When I'm going to blast you into oblivion?"

"Well about that..." He had no time to finish as the brutally swift attack came at him. Normally he would've become a cheetah, but if he did that now Timid would be left holding his leg; that wouldn't help either of them much. Forced to run as a human, he barely evaded the series of energy blasts that shook the unbreakable walls.

Rage opened her mouth to plead their innocence, but instead asked, "Why're you so against us getting married? We're in love." It didn't calm the murderous looking girl, but it did draw her attention away from the shape shifter and the girl he so gently carried.

"I think it's time to stop with the joke." Beast Boy yelled.

"I know. Just habit I guess." Rage dodged blasts of energy, glad Raven was too enraged to take aim.

The shape shifter tried to carry the sleeping girl on his shoulder, but found it awkward with the way she kept hold of his arm. "Why isn't she waking up?" He asked, watching as Rage dodged several tendrils Raven sent after her.

"She hasn't had a good night's sleep in seventeen years." Came the rushed reply. The red-clad emoticlone dropped low to let a wave of energy hit the stone walls just inches above her head. She too was worried, but hoped that was all it was; someone who deserved a good night's sleep finally getting just that.

"Raven, it was just a joke." Beast Boy yelled. Unfortunately, while his words did nothing to calm the rampaging Titan, it did draw her attention. He was forced to run, and ended up rolling desperately on the ground as what seemed like dark blades tried to slice and dice him. Careful not to let Timid get bruised, the chivalrous Titan wound up getting quite a few himself. His head, having smacked into the sturdy walls, left him blinded in pain. Struggling to stand, he was too dazed to evade any more attacks.

Rage had a frown on her face, feeling as she did the emotions of the raging demon who had her awed. _Damn! _She thought, desperately seeking a way to calm the out-of-control Raven down. _Maybe if I promise to be on my best behavior for the next hundred years ..._

She couldn't calm down. Within her mind the same thought had started to repeat itself over and over. _That beast violated me. _To the violet-eyed girl, who was now throwing forth her rage at anything that moved, the emoticlones were in a way both her sisters, and at the same time a part of her. She felt betrayed first by those sisters, for even Rage was one despite their differing opinions, and second by her fellow Titan. Incensed beyond belief, the power seething inside her exploded out in a wave that battered against the stone walls, and flowed through the corridors of the maze with a malevolent need to obliterate all that it touched with soul-shattering agony. In an unending wave it swept all before it, causing the unbreakable walls of the labyrinth to ring like a tuning fork. Driven by emotions darker, and more intense, than any she'd ever felt before, the merciless tsunami of destruction that flowed from the traumatized girl would have made Trigon himself pause.

For three whole minutes Armageddon raged from the girl before slowly fading. It was only then, after collapsing to her knees, that Raven thought to consider what would happen to her if any of her sisters died. Or, for that matter, to pause and consider that despite his crimes, killing Beast Boy might've been a tad too much.

* * *

_Pain. _The gray-clad girl sighed, struggling to regain the peace that'd been so long denied her. Touching the arm of BB she'd felt the sense of happiness that was an essential part of his being, and it had allowed her for the first time in her life to feel comforted. No longer was there the eternal, and unending need to keep watch; she knew in her heart she could trust him to watch over not just her, but her sisters as well while she slept. So that was what she did. _Panic. _She sighed again, and slowly her eyes opened.

_"Eeek!" _Timid yelped, seeing the inferno rushing down on them. It was then that BB tossed her against floor, and sought to protect her with his own body. _He would die for me. _The girl realized, and even as that wave of demonic destruction washed over them she felt no fear. Her hand reached behind the shape shifter as she spoke three simple words. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." They were whispered in a tone so soft that even the boy who desperately held her, was willing to die for her, didn't hear them.

Knowing it was her fault, Rage saw the shape shifter, who she'd only wanted to kiss, prepare to sacrifice himself to save her sister. Swiftly, wondering what it would be like to die, she threw herself on top of him. She blinked as Timid's hands rose from behind the boy, and the same barrier she'd seen hold the Guardian at bay rose around the three them.

* * *

It was a desperate gasp for air that made Raven look up to see the trio piled on top of each other. Timid on the bottom, with her hand reached around the other two. Beast Boy on top of the gray-clad girl in what appeared to be a desperate attempt to save her. And then, to her disbelief, there was Rage on top of Beast Boy in what she knew was an attempt to save both him and her sister.

"Air." Gasped Timid, who was being crushed beneath the other two.

Rage rolled off them, knowing the fight was over. Their body had been drained of energy by Raven's outburst, and by Timid's barrier. There was nothing left to fight with.

Beast Boy warily stood, prepared to continue the one-sided battle. Reaching down, he pulled Timid to her feet. For some reason, he wasn't surprised when she refused to let go of his hand.

_Nice. _The girl sighed, letting the feelings the boy radiated flow into her. The smile returned to her face.

Raven blinked, watching as the girl, who couldn't find the courage to even stay around her fellow emoticlone for long, took the shape shifter's hand and refused to let go. "Okay. Maybe I should allow you to get married." She stated in disbelief. _Heck. _She thought wearily. _If he can calm Rage, and bring out Timid's assertive side then ... What the heck am I thinking._ She blinked again, sitting wearily on the floor.

"Well." Beast Boy started. "You see. That was just a joke. But, you know, I certainly wouldn't be again it."

End of Chapter.

* * *

Many thanks to those who read and review


	9. Chapter 9

**I do NOT own Teen Titans**

_**The Resolution,... The War Party Reforms,... Raven the Merciless,... The Confession,... Beast Boy Runs for his Life,...**_

* * *

"Stupid." Raven intoned. "Even for you." Her eyes flickered between the green-skinned Titan and the red-clad emoticlone.

"True." Rage shrugged. "But it was fun to see you actually get angry." She grinned. "I didn't know you had it in you, big sis."

"If Timid hadn't been there you would both be dead now." Raven informed her, letting a tiny hint of frustration escaped her facade.

"True." The red-clad girl frowned. "Do you know what would happen if one of us died?"

"Dead is dead." Raven shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I think another would be born to take your place. It just wouldn't have your memories. Not a theory I plan to test though; not even with you, as much as I'm tempted to at times."

"Good." Came the dark sounding reply. "I'm not quite ready to die yet. I think I'll use a little more foresight when planning any trouble I cause from now on."

"Me too." Beast Boy piped up.

"Good." Raven said, hoping they did just that. _If they think about the consequences, then maybe I won't end up with so many headaches. _The blue-clad girl hoped.

"Too many of my plots fail because I jump the gun, so to speak." Rage sighed.

"Same here." The green-skinned Titan sighed along with his partner in mischief.

_Grrrr. _Raven focused on keeping her temper.

"Anyway. You explained what happened once Beast Boy made a run for the door, but why did he?" She turned her gaze onto her fellow emoticlone to stare unflinchingly at her.

"Hrm." The girl frozen. "Doesn't matter. It all ended well, right?" She grinned at her leader with an obvious fake smile.

"I'll be the judge of that." Came the response that promised an unrelenting interrogation.

Rage gulped. If the blue-clad girl found out she'd kissed a frog ... _She'll never let me forget it. She would blackmail me into being good for eternity... _She gulped again, and the four crimson-red eyes of the panicked demon twitched to the left, and then to the right, as she pondered how to escape.

* * *

"She beat us all." Happy sobbed, crying her heart out. "We'll never save BB now. My poor Beastie."

"Only because she played mean tricks." Brave muttered, clearly not happy. "Why did she have to hit so hard? My head still hurts."

"My poor Beastie." The pink-clad girl sobbed again, not paying attention.

"We'll save him." Knowledge said, pushing her broken glasses up on her nose. "But those tricks were really mean."

"She doesn't play fair. Never did, never will." Came the reply from Brave who was now throwing punches at the air with her green cloak twirling around her.

"Beastie." Happy cried again.

"We'll save him." Knowledge told the poor girl comfortingly. With a determined look on her face she held her book in a grip of steel. "And when we do..." She raised the book only to slam it downward. "Wham." She yelled excitedly. "We'll knock her out like she did us, and take BB back."

"We could try to talk to her." Affection said. "Though if you get a chance to use the book, use it." She wasn't feeling too happy with her older sister right now.

"I will." Knowledge replied. "But I'm skipping the talking part."

"Me too." Brave fumed.

"My poor Beastie." Happy continued to weep.

"Well save him." Affection, Knowledge, and Brave chorused together.

"And pummel that monster into paste." Added Brave, looking around. "By the way, where's Rude?"

"She called Knowledge four-eyes." Sloth spoke up. "Let's just say Rage didn't take too kindly to hearing that phrase."

"Hehe. I bet." Brave took a few more pot-shots at the air.

"That's just like Rage, and Rude." Knowledge frowned, not liking being called four-eyes. "Anyway, as leader I'll ...:"

"Hey." Brave interrupted. "I'm leader."

_Here they go again. _Thought Affection and Sloth.

"My poor Beastie." Sobbed Happy.

* * *

"What did you do this time?" Raven asked the red-clad emoticlone for the umpteenth time.

"Nothing big." Came the fearful reply. Rage was looking at the floor.

"Nothing big? It nearly go you killed, not to mention Beast Boy? Rage..." Raven closed her eyes, and for a moment looked scared. Then her usual facade was back in place.

"It got out of hand." Mumbled the girl who still refused to look up.

The blue-clad girl sighed, looking over to where Timid was still contentedly cuddling with Beast Boy. _What's up with that? _She wondered, before turning back to her nemesis. "Okay. Since you won't answer you don't leave me any choice." She wiggled her fingers. "Once last chance Rage."

_Wonder what she means by that. _Beast Boy pondered, feeling sorry for the girl.

"Please. I'll be good. No trouble for a whole week." Rage promised.

Raven paused. The idea of a week without that red-clad demon of mischief stirring up trouble sounded good. _But I can't just let her buy her way out of trouble. _She marched on the girl, who actually cringed, as another thought struck her. _Since when does Rage say please?_

"No." Screamed the four-eyed, half-demon girl in a panic. "A month. I won't make any trouble for a month. I swear." Then, as those cruel and dreadful fingers descended on her, it was too late.

_What the heck. _Thought Beast Boy, blinking. Beside him Timid, with her grip still firmly around his arm, also looked on with wide eyes.

"Hehehehehehehehehe." Screamed Rage, as the nimble fingers of the blue-clad girl found her every weakness. She twisted to get away, to hide those ticklish spots, but the owner of those vicious and barbaric appendages knew her every weakness. They did, after all, share the same body.

The green-skinned Titan looked on in shock, and then smiled. _Sisters. _He thought, with a sigh of relief, as he watched the blue-clad girl tear into her already defeated foe. "Your sisters fight a lot." He whispered to the gray-clad girl who clung to his arm.

"All the time." Timid hesitantly whispered back, deciding it was okay to talk to someone who was so wonderful. "But they're both super nice." She hurried to add.

"Hehehehehehehehehe." The red-clad, half-demon, continued to scream, as her willpower slowly crumbled beneath the deadly assault.

* * *

"Raven is back." Knowledge said with relief. "She'll save BB."

"Ya." Happy cheered, able to sense the emoticlone leader. "My Beastie is going to be okay."

"I'm still going to pound that deal breaker." Growled Brave.

"Me too." Knowledge replied, recalling how she'd been trick. "She broke my glasses. Besides, I was right about that riddle."

"Raven doesn't allow us to fight when she's around." Affection informed them with a smile, glad BB would be all right.

"So we wait until she's gone." Knowledge shrugged, pushing up the poor remnants of her shattered glasses that only had half a lens remaining.

"Then we pound that good-for-nothing liar." The green-clad girl thrust her fists into the air again. "Pow! Pow!" She yelled.

"Do we need to? So long as BB is safe ..." Affection started to say

"We do." Knowledge and Brave spoke as one.

"We could just tear hole in her cloak." Sloth suggested, poking a finger through a gap in her hood. "I don't know why, but I'm sure it'll make her mad."

"Good idea." Brave clapped her fellow emoticlone on the back, sending her flying.

"What are we waiting for. Lets go see my Beastie." Happy grabbed hold of Brave and Knowledge to pull them with her.

"But this is Rage." Knowledge suddenly went pale as a frightening thought came to her. "What if she's captured Raven."

A shock ran through the crowd of emoticlones before Brave managed to speak. "But this is Raven."

"Still. It's best to be safe. Imagine how she might thank us if we save her." The eyes of the yellow-clad emoticlone of intellect glowed in anticipation as if they'd already saved their supposedly captured leader.

"She might let me make pink butterflies." Happy squealed. She'd tried it before, but Raven had went into shock at the sight of so much pink, and had made her tone it down a bit. _But if ... _Her eyes too glowed as she considered the possibilities.

"A stick I can beat Rage with." Brave suddenly spoke. "A big one." She added, slashing her arm through the air as if she already had it.

"We sneak in." Knowledge decided. "And then we rush her."

"Good plan." The green-clad emoticlone of courage agreed, neglecting for once to fight her more intelligent counterpart.

* * *

Beast Boy, with a hint of an amused smile, studied the two squabbling sisters through half-closed eyes. For a brief second he was sure he saw Raven's lips turn up slightly. Not in a cruel manner, but as if just for that short while she was having fun. "She would be great with children." He whispered, not realizing he spoke aloud.

"She is." Timid whispered back. "She let's Happy have a whole domain so she and the others will have a place to play. She's really good to us." The girl blinked, and then blushed as she realized how certain, and assertive, she'd sounded talking about her sisters. "They're all really good." She added. "Even if they fight a lot."

"Hehehehehehehehehe." Screamed the red-clad emoticlone of mischief. "I've give up." She yelled, gasping for breath. "I'll talk."

Raven backed off. "Talk." She ordered, a little out of breath herself.

"I didn't mean any harm." Rage remained stretched out on the floor. "I just wanted too ... Well ..." She sighed, knowing how this would end.

"Speak." Came the unrelenting command.

"A kiss." The red-clad girl whispered, hoping no one but Raven would hear. It might be used to blackmail her, but she knew her sister wouldn't actually tell on her.

"What!" Came a chorus of voice, as Happy, Affection, Knowledge, Brave, and Sloth fell into the room from where they'd been listening, and preparing their assault.

_Crap. _Rage cringe. _Please don't make me say anything else. _She silently begged the merciless girl who stood above her.

"A what?" Raven blinked. _Please don't tell me one of my emoticlones got a kiss before I did. _She silently pleaded.

"A kiss." She whispered, not looking up at the mob that surrounded her. "I just wanted a kiss. I am Lust, you know, and he's cute."

Raven blinked again, as around her the whole room was quiet in shock.

"It's not as though I was going to get another chance." Rage defended herself, staring up angrily. "Not with the way you won't let me free for a second. And you've never let anyone in here, except him. I just wanted for once ..." She sighed sadly as she looked down at the cold stone floor.

The blue-clad leader of the emoticlones swallowed nervously. "Did you?" She asked. _Please say no. _She begged.

Rage thought of the frog she'd actually locked lips with, and decided to keep her own shut; at least while the whole gang was looking on.

"You did!" Raven uttered in shock, not knowing how to react as she took the silence as a yes. Unfortunately for her, and Beast Boy, the others knew exactly what to do.

"You kissed my Beastie." Happy screamed in anger. Then she paused. "And Timid is cuddling with him. I want to cuddle and kiss too." She added, racing towards the green-skinned boy.

Seeing the pink-clad emoticlone hurling towards him, arms stretched wide, the shape shifter did the only thing he could. He became a mouse and, no longer being in Timid's loving grasp, raced between the legs of the oncoming girl who ran head-first into the wall.

"Stop." He tried to tell her, becoming his human form again.

"I want to kiss BB too." Affection said. No reward Raven could offer could ever hope match that. She reached out for the boy who was just feet from her.

"It would be an interesting experiment." Knowledge agreed, eyeing the now terrified boy. "It would have to be repeated a number of times." She added.

"If you get to, I want to as well." Brave said, preparing to fight if she needed too.

"Well..." Sloth shrugged. "If you're all in, I'm going for it too." She eyed their target hungrily, thinking she might start dressing better.

_If this was any group of girls other than Raven's emoticlones ... _Beast Boy sigh, and as the swarm of girls descended upon him, he became a cheetah that raced for the exit.

"Whaaa." Raven was left stunned, as mouth open, she watched Happy, Affection, Brave, Knowledge, and Sloth race after the fleeing boy. She gulped, and tried to regain her equilibrium.

"I'm going to try it too." Timid shocked them as she spoke, sounding very assertive.

"Gaaa." Raven spoke again, or tried too. Her once again murderous gaze turned towards the red-clad culprit for this disaster... Rage.

End of Chapter.

* * *

_Many thanks to those who read and review_


	10. Chapter 10

**I do NOT own Teen Titans**

* * *

_**Timid's Strategy,... Cops and Robbers,... A Long Talk,... Victory to Timid,...**_

"You've really outdone yourself this time." Raven intoned, looking down at her younger sister.

"Thanks." Rage spoke with a dark, yet happy smile on her face.

"It wasn't a compliment."

"To me it was." The red-clad girl suddenly sat up, frowning. "I'm just seventeen." She spoke as if shocked.

"So?" Raven asked, puzzled.

"Well, how am I ever going to top this? I'm just seventeen, and it's going to be all downhill from here."

"By Azarath I hope that's the case." The emoticlone leader replied. She looked over at Timid who, despite her claim she wanted to kiss Beast Boy, had yet to move. "Aren't you going to chase after him?" She asked.

The gray-clad girl, whose cloak now had hints of silver on it, shrugged. "The only way out is through here." She explained. "I only need to wait, and he'll fall into my arms." Her voice held a hint of confidence.

"The others might get to him first." Raven pointed out.

"Doubt it. And if they do, I'm willing to share." Timid tilted her head. "Actually, if they do, then he'll have more practice. It'll make him a better kisser."

Raven gulped. "By Azarath..." She muttered to herself, recalling just how good a strategist the girl was.

"What was it like?" The gray-clad girl directed the question towards Rage.

"Huh? What was what like?" She gulped.

"The kiss."

"Oh. Ummm." The red-clad girl was almost starting to regret her sister's new assertiveness; but only almost.

* * *

As the fastest land animal on earth he was pure speed. _But they got empathy, and can teleport. _The terrified boy reminded himself, as he raced from the labyrinth exit in the form of a cheetah. _That's not good. _Beast Boy gulped, considering his odds against five Raven look-alikes who had her powers. _I'm toast. _He sobbed, and urged himself to move faster.

Less than two minutes later he looked up, puzzled. The labyrinth was right in front of him, with his five pursuers just coming out; yet he was sure he hadn't made a circle. _Oh no. This place is only a few square miles. _The green-skinned shaper shifter realized. _Go too far and you end up back where you started._ Making a sharp turn, he raced away from the five who'd spotted him. They gave chase, running towards him as if their lives depended on it.

When they were out of sight he paused, knowing he would need his strength to run when they found him again. A cheetah was built for sprinting, not long distance running. But something about the chase puzzled him. _Why run? _He wondered. _They can fly and teleport. I've seen them do it before, though not often._

* * *

"Where did he go?" Knowledge panted, reluctantly admitting that sometimes brawn might match brains. Brave, she saw, was barely breathing hard.

"How would I know?" Came the annoyed answer, as the green-clad emoticlone looked around.

"I'm going to kiss Beastie." Happy sighed happily, also looking around.

"He couldn't have gone far." Affection noted, heart racing at what she had in mind for BB. "This place is only so big."

"There has to be some way to find him." Sloth put in her two words. Her brown cloak looked just a tad bit less dirty than usually.

"Hrm. Ways to find him." Knowledge pushed up her broken glasses, before pausing in thought. "I know. I know." She yelled excitedly. "We look for him using empathy."

"Okay." Brave spoke, reluctantly admitting to herself it was a good plan. "I'll take charge and ..."

"I'm leader." Knowledge yelled back. "I came up with the idea."

"I'm faster. If we find him, I got a better chance to catch him." Came the annoyed response. "I should be leader."

"I'm smarter. I can outthink him." Knowledge retorted, not backing down as she faced the green-clad emoticlone.

"QUIET!" Affection, who rarely ever rose her voice, yelled. This though, was too important to mess up. "You can take turns. Knowledge can be leader for ten minutes, and then Brave." She offered the compromise.

"No way." The two both yelled in sync.

"The longer we argue, the further away he's getting." Sloth pointed out. "And I don't want to have to run to the four corners of Nevermore." She tilted her head in thought. "Though for this I will." She admitted.

There was some muttering, but in the end the two agreed to the compromise, though Brave insisted on leading first.

* * *

Their puzzled prey hadn't gone far. Less than a hundred feet away he'd settled down in the grass, and tilted his ears towards his five pursuers. He was confused. _Why would they have to think so hard to come up with using empathy to find me? _Beast Boy wondered. _And all this arguing over who's leader... _The great cat shook its head, knowing it was missing something.

He continued to patiently wait, thinking on the matter for a full three minutes before the yells of, '_There he is,' _told him the great cat had been discovered. _What took them so long. _The boy wondered, as he streaked away. _And why still no teleporting? Or flying?_

* * *

"Oh no." We lost him again, Affection muttered, feeling a hint of frustration despite how fun the game was.

"It's just a matter of time." Brave insisted. "Victory will go to the most courageous. We can't lose."

"It's too important to give up." Happy insisted, eyes sparkling. To her the wait just made the anticipation grow.

"He's fast." Sloth admitted, sitting down to take a break.

"Indeed." Knowledge frowned, wishing her glasses wasn't broken.

"I can outrun anything." Brave retorted. "I once ran a mile in two minutes."

"Hrmph." The yellow-clad emoticlone snapped back at the loudmouth show-off. "He's a cheetah. They can run a mile in _less _than a minute."

"Oh." The green-clad emoticlone backed off.

"By the way." Knowledge frowned. "Just how do you know it was a mile? We don't have measuring sticks here."

"Well ... " Brave decided to shut up, knowing she'd been caught.

"Anyway, it's my turn to lead." The yellow-clad girl decided.

"It hasn't been ten minutes yet." Was the automatic reply from the soon to be dethroned leader.

"How would you know? Do you have a clock?" Knowledge asked, knowing the answer.

"Well, no." Brave admitted. "But neither do you."

"The how do you know whatever distance you ran took two minutes?" Sloth wondered.

Brave gulped, knowing she'd been double caught in the lie.

"No arguing." Affection spoke firmly. "The more we fight the further away he'll get. It's Knowledge's turn."

"Okay." The pouting green-clad emoticlone relented.

* * *

Beast Boy blinked. _Weird. This is weird. _He kept telling himself. _If I didn't know any better, I would say they were a bunch of kids playing cops and robbers, with me as the robber. _He blinked again. _That can't be it. _He insisted to himself. _They had to have been born when Raven was. They're seventeen, just like her. _Still, he kept frowning, turning the idea over in his mind. _They're not used to using their powers yet. They're still developing..._

Then there came the yells as they found him again. With a hint of a smile, about to test his hypothesis, the green-skinned Titan streaked towards the five girls. He became a small dog that brought the lead girl, Brave, down. Dashing around her in a full circle, he then stopped to lick her on the cheek.

"BB kissed me." The green-clad girl squealed excitedly, breaking down in giggles.

"But aren't you afraid of catching cooties?" The shape shifter asked, returning to human form. He watched as the five girls froze.

"There's no such thing." Knowledge spoke hesitantly.

"I'm a boy, and boys have cooties. Remember." Beast Boy grinned as he spoke. "Poor Brave. Wonder what the cooties will do to her."

"Get them off. Get them off." The no longer courageous girl yelped, rubbing at her face.

"Brave. Has cooties." The other four yelped, backing away; even Knowledge who was flipping desperately through her book.

"Who's next?" The cootie spreading boy asked, with an even glint in his eye that would've made Rage proud.

"Run." They chorused as one, and took off. Unfortunately they ran in the same direction, which allowed the shape shifter to catch them one by one and, in the form of a puppy, spread the dreaded cooties.

* * *

Confused, the victorious shape shifter shrugged, and once again became a cheetah that turned in the direction of the labyrinth.

"You survived. I see." Raven intoned as Beast Boy crept into the room with a wary glance towards Timid.

"Barely." Came the amused reply. "But what are they? Ten? And how could Knowledge tutor me if she's just a kid?" The confusion was evident in his voice.

"She knows what I know from reading her book." The blue-clad girl replied impassively, or tried too. She was still having trouble not laughing at the red-faced Rage. _She kissed a frog. _The empath giggled to herself, trying to keep a straight face.

"But ..."

"Their potential was born soon after I was." Raven explained, becoming somber. "However I was taught to suppress my emotions, so they didn't take form until I was around nine. And they haven't had a chance to grow, so basically they're still kids. Knowledge can act all grown up, but ..." She let out a small sigh. "I don't laugh and, despite that I read book after book, its more of a way to pass the time. They aren't what they should be." She didn't try to hide the sadness she felt.

"Oh. He glanced towards Rage and Timid."

"Timid is more like a twin. She can always see what I do, and feel what I do. Besides, my whole life I've had to be cautious. She's the same age as I am."

"And Rage?"

Raven went quiet, glancing at the girl with the four crimson-red eyes who also didn't speak. She had no intentions of breaking her sister's trust.

"Demons are different." Rage sighed, not knowing why she was answering. "Whereas humans carry a baby for nine months, demons take thirteen. Four months after those two were born I just came into being. And ..." She gulped, looking away. "My aspect is that of a demon. Age doesn't mean the same thing for us."

"Oh." Beast Boy, felt overwhelmed, and didn't know what to say, but he saw how upset Rage was. That she'd just decided to ... trust ... him. "You really love your sisters." He said, thinking. "I can see it now. At first I thought you were kinda rough, but that's how wolf cubs play; they're pretty rough too. All of you are half-demons, and you know how rough you can play before you hurt them, or upset them." He paused for a second. "You act the bad guy, but you're actually teaching them. They're learning how to act together, and how to use their powers. You're making them grow up."

The red-clad demon blinked, wondering how he could so easily understand. "But we're only half demon." She replied. "So they need more than just that. They're not just wolf cubs."

"They need to feel." Timid spoke without the usual tremor in her voice. "That's why Raven made Nevermore. So they could play and interact with each other, and maybe grow that way. Before that Rage lived with me in my labyrinth." The grey-clad girl paused to take a deep breath before continuing. "They both love them, but there're limits. If Raven feels too much her powers might hurt someone. You saw what happened when she got angry earlier, imagine her doing that in a city with thousands of people nearby. She can't just unleash them all the time, not even the ones like Happy, because happiness also represents sadness, and that might lead to anger."

"She lets them free sometimes though." Beast Boy pointed out.

"But just sometimes, and in little bits." Raven answered. "I want them to experience what they were meant to be. In fact, if they were to grow up, I might not have to keep them locked up. They could be like Timid, and feel and see all I do."

"Oh." The shape shifter frowned. "But you do feel?. Not just when you free them?"

"I do." Came the answer that made him sigh in relief. "But it's never the full intensity that it should be. I can feel happiness, and contentment, but not sheer excitement. At least not unless I let Happy free. I can be glad, and I can like stuff such as reading while you and Cyborg make fools of yourselves playing games, but pure love would be too dangerous."

"Oh." The boy echoed again. 'If they were to grow up?" He asked.

"Then they could balance themselves, and place things in perspective. I would be free."

* * *

The gray-clad girl, whose cloak was no longer just plain gray, used her empathy to spot the shape shifter while her eyes remained on the far wall. He sat just six feet to her left, deep in thought. It was the perfect chance that she'd so patiently waited for.

She positioned her body perfectly, sitting while she leaned forward a little. In her mind she did the calculations a dozen times. _Perfect. _She thought. Then she teleported.

The attack easily overwhelmed the defenses of the green-skinned Titan. One second Timid was safely out of range, the next she was directly in front of him, with her lips firmly pressed against his own, not even giving him a warning, let alone a chance to defend. Then she was gone.

"Yes." The grinning girl yelled, pumping the air with her fist, as the others stared in shock.

End of Chapter.

* * *

_Many thanks to those who read and review_


	11. Chapter 11

**I do NOT own Teen Titans**

* * *

_**Leaving Nevermore,... Raven's Nightmare,... A Desperate Battle,... Assertive,... A Confession,...**_

"Oh drats." Rage sighed, pouting. "I get the frog and she gets the cute guy. So not fair." She glared across the room at her grinning sister.

"Grrrr." Raven growled. "Enough of this." She muttered, yanking the still stunned shape shifter to his feet with a hand formed of dark magic. "The sooner I get you out of here, the sooner my headache will go away."

"No." Timid cried. "If he leaves now I won't another until he come back tomorrow."

"He won't be back tomorrow." The emoticlone leader told the girl, as she pushed the still speechless boy ahead of her. "Or the next." She added.

"No fair." The gray-clad girl leapt to her feet. "Who am I going to kiss then?"

"And I gotta get an actual kiss." Rage yelled. "He's got to come back."

"No one, and not in this lifetime he won't." Raven told them. In her mind she had a vivid image of little Beast Boys and little Beast Girls running around; some had four red eyes, while others wore gray cloaks. _Can an emoticlone even get pregnant? _She wondered, gulping. _Best not to find out. _The girl decided, as she headed for the forbidden door.

* * *

Beast Boy settled down in his room, determined to do his best even if he no longer had a tutor. _I'll still get that diploma. _He told himself. _It'll just a take a while longer. _The green-skinned Titan paused in thought for a second. _Okay, maybe a lot longer. _He reluctantly admitted to himself.

Still, as he randomly doodled in his notebook, and frequently paced the floor, he couldn't tear his mind away from the day's events. There was still that incredible sensation of Timid's lips on his, as well as the dread he'd felt at Raven's confession. She could feel, but never the full range of emotions; the girl who he often dreamed about would never know true love. That hurt. Even if it wasn't him, he wanted her to be more than just content; he wanted her to love and be loved.

Back at his desk the boy opened his math book to the next chapter. _The Fundamentals of Algebra. _He read and, slapping himself a few times to clear his mind, started reading.

* * *

In her own room a certain blue-clad girl settled down to meditate, and eventually drifted off to sleep. In her dreams she saw the mob of little Beast Boys, and little Beast girls, become a small village as they settled down to live together. Then, as time passed, that village became a town, which became a city,...

"Gaaa." Raven screamed, waking up in a cold sweat. "Oh Azarath." She sobbed. "Why did the city have to be pink?" Gasping for breath, it took her a while to realize the alarm that warned of a villain was blasting through her head, aggravating her already agonizing headache.

_Just a few second. _She told herself, slumping back on her bed. _Anyone would need a break after that ... nightmare. _Blinking her eyes, trying to clear her mind of the image of that awful city with its pink roads, and pink houses, she shuddered. It'd had pink clouds around the towers, and even pink colored fountains filled with pink lemon-aid. _It was, _the still gasping girl thought, _a nightmare that would've cause the most stout-hearted of Titans to cringe, and need a little breather to recuperate_.

* * *

"Okay." Robin told the group, as he saw Raven teleport in just seconds after Beast Boy had raced in. "This is serious. Actually, it's beyond serious. It seems the Joker has decided to pay us a visit. I've sent the alarm to Titans East, but even with the T-ship we can't afford to wait. We have to act now!" Even if his voice remained confident and calm, there was a sense of panic in the way their leader moved.

* * *

As they rushed the warehouse where the psychotic madman had set up residence, all five Titan were a bit pale, yet focused on the task at hand; take down the Joker, and save Jump city.

"Welcome my feathered little friend." The voice of the supervillain taunted the leader of the Titans. "How nice of you to join us."

"Us?" Robin asked, looking around.

"Together we shall light up the night." Came a familiar voice.

"Yeah, Yeah. Whatever." The Joker muttered under his breath.

"What's your plan?" Robin asked, twisting around to keep Dr. Light in sight as well.

"Why, to kill a little birdie." Came the reply from a face that smiled maniacally. "Once that's done there shall be nothing to stop us."

"No bombs? No chemicals? Nothing that can hurt the people of the city?" Boy Wonder asked as if shocked.

The Joker shrugged. "Well, there must always be a plot." He cackled. "But Harley is late with the supplies I need, so I thought I would get started."

"_We_ would get started." Dr. Light put in, sounding offended. "Don't forget, I'm your partner."

"Yeah. Yeah." The annoyed psychopath muttered again. "Whatever."

"Good." The leader of the Titans sighed. "We can take you down without worrying about hurting the people of Jump City." He smiled, the relief evident on his face.

"A little overconfident, is our little robin." The Joker grinned, and his face distorted into a look that radiated pure madness. "Do your part." He ordered, turning to Dr. Light.

"Of course." The elderly man in the futuristic suit smiled, and a machine in the center of the warehouse suddenly flashed with an intense blue light, almost looking as if it'd exploded.

The five blinded Titans panicked for a few seconds, believing it was a trick to leave them open for attack. Yet, even as their sight slowly returned, and after images of the blue light faded, they saw that the Joker and Dr. Light had yet to move. The machine was once again dark, though the smell of ozone now filled the building.

"What was that?" Robin demanded, as the other Titans prepared to rush the two villains.

"Why, my fine little feathered friend, it's just a little gift I had this fine gentleman cook up while I was waiting on Harley." The pale-faced maniac pleasantly spoke before turning to one side. "When she gets back I'll teach her to be late again." He muttered angrily, with pure madness in his voice.

"Titans! Go!" The leader yelled, as he took two electric discs from a pouch. He sent them flying at the madman who stood before him, yet the Joker didn't even flinch.

"Your toys won't do you much good here." Came the amused voice that sounded as if it came from the darkest depths of hell. The psychopath called the Joker had caught one of the discs, even as he'd let the other bounce harmlessly off his chest.

"Waaa." Robin was stunned.

"Let me show you a new trick I've learned." The Joker laughed, sounding even more demonic than Rage. He took a step forward, and before Boy Wonder could move, pulled him close. To the shock of all present, the crazed villain inhaled, and then kissed their leader on the lips.

"Waaa." The violated boy yelped again, struggling free to put some distance between him and their deranged foe.

"I call it the Kiss of Death." The Lord Prince of Crime spoke as his eyes glowed malevolently. "You see, my lungs always holds enough Joker's venom to slowly drive a person insane. Then it kills them." The unstable lunatic cackled in madness. "One little birdie playing nicely with its friends. Chirp! Chirp! Said the little birdie. Then it took a gun to shoot its friends dead."

The five Titans all gulped, knowing it was a prediction of what would happen. That their leader would go insane, and kill his friends.

"I know what that blue light was." Cyborg suddenly spoke. "It was an electromagnetic pulse. It fried half my systems, and it's probably why your discs don't work." He gulped, looking pale. "I can't use my sonic cannon." He added.

"What about the rest of your systems?" Boy Wonder asked, equally pale.

"The ones that keep me alive are buried pretty deep inside." Came the reply that caused the Titans to sigh in relief. "That's why I didn't get any immediate warnings. But I can barely move."

"We take them down, and worry about the poison later. You'll have plenty of time to do repairs then." The voice of their leader was still filled with confidence. He pulled out a bo staff, and flicked it. It failed to extend to its full length.

"That uses electronics too." Cyborg pointed out.

"Oh... Right." Boy Wonder returned it to the loop on his belt, and looked around. "What are you waiting for? I said, Titans, Go!" He crouched down in a fighting stance, and marched on the grinning madman in front of him.

_Oh Right. _Beast Boy thought, becoming an elephant that charged Dr. Light. Starfire, he saw, had rushed to aid Robin. There was a loud thunk as the seven-ton beast hit the force field that rose to surround his foe.

Raven winced when she saw Beast Boy bounce off the barrier their foe had created; then she turned to face that same foe. "Poor little man." She intoned, as she reached out to crush the forced field. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." She chanted, calling on all her power. Dark magic reached out from her to meet the light that sought to protect her enemy.

Becoming a giant crocodile, Beast Boy whipped his tail around several times to smash against that shield of light. _Useless. _He muttered, with a quick glance around the room to check how his friends were doing. What he saw wasn't good. "Robin?" He called out in panic. "Starfire?"

Boy Wonder had charged his foe only to find himself inhaling more of the Joker's Venom in the form of a gas grenade. Becoming dizzy, he'd staggered back.

"Robin." Starfire had cried out in fear, and had flown into that field of gas. Her skin now sported red bumps, and had started to peel in places.

"I had no idea how my venom would affect the lovely young lady." The grinning lunatic spoke as if pleased. "So I did some research, and added some chromium powder to the mix." The madness showed through his eyes as he laughed dementedly. "I must say, it does seem to be effective." He stepped forward, pulled a baseball bat from somewhere, and hit the orange-skinned girl who was shivering and scratching at her skin even as she tried to hold her boyfriend.

To the shock of everyone looking on, red blood spurted from the girl while there was the sound of bones breaking.

"Ah." The Joker sighed happily. "Sometimes the simple solution is the best. You see, the bat is made of chromium too."

"Starfire?" Whispered Robin as he struggled to stand, only to have the bat, wielded by the cackling madman, leave a bloody wound on his skull. The leader of the Titans fell unconscious.

"Game time is over." The Lord Prince of Crime spoke, grabbing a sack. Throwing the bag, more than two dozen gas grenades rolled out and exploded.

"No." Beast Boy yelled, seeing the deadly objects that spelled doom for him and his friend. He glanced first at Raven to see if she was okay; then a barrier of dark energy rose to surround him, and flung him out through a window.

_He looked first to me. _The violet-eyed girl sighed with a sense of happiness. _I wish ... _She pushed the thought from her mind, and turned to see what else could be done, though she knew it was too late to save the others; the warehouse had already filled with the deadly gas, and they would've inhaled it. _Maybe Starfire is immune. _She hoped, and reached out to move her best friend with her dark magic.

_Raven. _Thought Beast Boy in desperation, knowing she'd chosen to save him over herself. In a daze he stooped to check Starfire as she too was tossed from the warehouse. Able to think only of the violet-eyed girl who was still inside, he finally decided the Tamarean would be okay, assuming she was indeed immune to the Joker's Venom.

_Unacceptable. _Came a deep primal cry from within. _Unacceptable. _Rising, the boy marched back into the warehouse. If the girl who ruled his dreams were to die, then what did it matter if he lived.

"The gas." Gasped Dr. Light who was on his knees. "You said my suit would protect me."

"Oops." Came an amused voice that said it didn't care. "It seems I was wrong." The pale-skinned psychopath was watching with glee.

"Beast Boy." Raven cried, seeing him enter again. "Why?"

"This is my place, it's where I should be." He simply answered, looking at her. _By your side. _He thought, even now not daring to speak those words aloud.

"My my." Laughed the Joker in a voice that sent madness echoing through the warehouse. "Now you will all go mad, and red will flow in your fine city." He grinned.

"We take him down." Beast Boy said, looking at Raven. "We protect the city."

"Agreed." She smiled at him, heart racing before she managed to calm it. _He chose to remain with me. _Both sadness and joy came with that knowledge. Reluctantly, she turned her gaze away from the green-skinned Titan. The madness that came from the Joker's Venom wasn't upon them yet. They would have time to take down one last villain together.

"No, no, no, ..." Spoke Dr. Light, who stared in fear at the floor. Obviously he was out of the fight.

"I'll handle him. You get the others outside." The boy told the girl. "Maybe they've made some breakthroughs in Gotham City. Maybe it isn't too late.

"Okay." She let a hint of a smile linger on her lips. Then she reached for Cyborg to move him outside as well. _His brain is party cybernetic. _She recalled. _Maybe that'll help protect him. _That done, she turned and reached for Robin.

Viciously, knowing this was his last fight, Beast Boy charged the Joker. Quick as thought, he was in the form of an elephant. Out massing his foe by quite a bit, it should've been an easy victory, yet the accursed demon who'd killed him and his friends nimbly danced around the great beast with ease.

"Slow." The Joker cackled. "But what a great trick. When the madness comes, I'm sure the people of this fair city will know such delicious fear." Without obvious effort, the villain twirled around the enraged elephant whose fury only grew.

_Unacceptable. _Roared the voice in the shape shifter's head again. _Unacceptable._ He became a gorilla, smaller, yet more agile, and marched on his hated foe once again.

"Wonderful. Wonderful." Screamed the villain, prancing around. "Oh what fun it will be to see what form you will use to ravage this beautiful city." The eyes of the psychopath glowed with evil as he laughed.

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." Raven chanted, turning her attention to the confident criminal mastermind. Suddenly, the villain glanced at her, and something streaked from his hand. It wrapped around her mouth, and she fell from the air as her power was sealed.

"Don't worry, my sweet little demon." The Lord Prince of Crime told her with a smile that came from the depths of hell. "It will come off, but by then you'll be quite mad." He giggled at his own pun, as he danced around the girl who was indeed quite mad.

"Grrr." Screamed Beast Boy, as once again something inside screamed it was unacceptable.

"You can't match me." The Joker suddenly froze. "My venom wasn't the only gas in those grenades. There were others that will wear off by the time the madness comes, but for now they make you slow and weak. Only I, the one and only Joker, am immune." He grinned maniacally. "And that my dear friend, means I win."

"No." Growled the last standing Titan. Always before his ability to shift had grown only when he pushed it. At first he'd only been able to change into small animals, like squirrels. But then, as he's pushed at that power, it'd grown until in the Doom Patrol the size of the shape had ceased to matter. Now, he felt something inside say it was time to push it further.

The boy, knowing he alone could avenge the one he loved, and save the city, stepped forward. His hand reached out into the mist that was the Joker's Venom, and he shifted.

"What trick is this?" The madman asked, stepping back as he stared into a face identical to his own, just green.

"If you're immune, then so am I now." The shape shifter replied, having for the first time in his life changed into another intelligent form. "Now we can fight as equals." He grinned with a madness in his eyes that promised vengeance, and stepped forward.

"No fair." The annoyed villain cried. "The venom is mine and mine alone, I won't share." He stepped forward to fight the foe he now seemed to loath. With blinding speed his fist lashed out.

The form had cleared the toxins from his body, allowing Beast Boy to think. Titans would never try to harm a villain, but he no longer cared. As that fist came at him, he became a porcupine with as many quills as he could muster aimed forward. Hundreds of those sharp needles pierced the flesh of the madman's fingers and hand.

"Owe. No fair." The Joke pouted as he backed off. "You said you would fight me in my own form."

"I said no such thing." Beast Boy answered. Once again in the form of that demented sociopath, he allowed it to clear his body of the toxins, and moved in.

"Blast you." The savage master criminal yelled, reaching for the chromium bat. With it in his left hand, he swung.

Beast Boy became a spitting cobra, allowing the bat to pass overhead. Then he spat. The venom wouldn't affect the accursed monster he faced, but the fluid would blind him for a while.

"No fair. Choose one form and keep it." The Joker screamed in fury and madness, wiping at his eyes as he backed away.

"Okay." The shape shifter replied. In the form of the Joker he picked up the dropped bat, and went to work. He didn't kill, but the Joker wouldn't be up causing more trouble for a long time.

Turning, Beast Boy picked up Raven, and carried the girl who, was still struggling with the tape wrapped around her mouth, outside.

As luck would have it, there was a cure for the Joker's Venom. It was just impractical since it requires large amounts of the venom to make, and before only the Joker could've provided it. But Beast Boy, in the form of the Joker, had allowed as much blood as was needed to be drawn from him. With his ability to heal quickly, along with a helping hand from Raven who'd speeded the process, enough of the serum had been made for all the stricken Titans, as well as Dr. Light.

Despite how dire the situation had been, they'd quickly gotten sick of the words their fearless leader kept repeating. "Ack! Mouthwash. Please! Someone get me more mouthwash!" He'd been on his ninety-fourth bottle before the anti-venom had been administered, allowing them to rush away from the boy who feared the Kiss of Death more for the 'kiss' part than the 'death' part.

* * *

Timid watched with Rage as the other emoticlones sat in a circle amidst the pink fields of Nevermore.

"They're afraid." She whispered, looking sadly at the children who huddled together a short distance away.

"I know." Came the dark, yet sad reply. "But I don't know what to do. I only know how to make them push their limits; to be angry at me, and strive to beat me."

"I wonder..." Timid spoke, and her newfound confidence wavered.

"They're a part of us, and a part of Raven." Rage spoke. "A part of what he loves. If you can help them, then how can you not?"

The gray-clad girl gulped and, with a deep breath, stepped forward.

"Hello." Said the girl whose cloak was a greyish silver.

"Who're you?" Brave jumped up with her fists clenched. She was clearly frightened, and ready for a fight.

"I'm Assertive." She answered. "I'm just like you, one of Hope's aspects."

"Oh." The emoticlone of courage stepped back. "You're new?" She asked.

"I guess you could say that. I'm both old, and yet new." Assertive smiled.

"You can't be both." Knowledge insisted.

"Of course I can." Assertive shrugged. "Want me to fix those for you?" She asked, pointing at the still broken glasses.

"Only Raven can do that." The girl replied. "But she left before I could ask her. I hate it when they break."

"Here." She reached across to take the mangled remains from the girl who cringed a little. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." She chanted, holding the spectacles in her hands. It took all she had, but the broken frames straightened out while the few shard of glasses that remained grew into two whole lenses. "Here." She passed them back to the yellow-clad emoticlone who took them eagerly.

"How did you do that?" Knowledge asked, wondering if she could learn.

"As I said, I'm both old, and yet new." Said the mysterious girl. She looked around. "You're afraid? But Raven is okay now. And so is BB. It's okay."

"I'm never afraid." Brave yelled, standing again.

"We nearly died." Affection sobbed. "I don't want to die. I wish BB were here."

"Me too." Happy cried. "I feel better with my Beastie around."

"He's always looking out for Raven, so he's always with her." Assertive pointed out. "Just because he's not in Nevermore doesn't mean he isn't with us. When he's with her, he is with us."

The girl in the silver and gray cloak looked at her fellow emoticlones. Today Raven had admitted things to herself, and in the process had unleashed all of her other aspects. They'd felt her incredible happiness, but had also felt her fear. They'd believed they were going to die.

"I know. Let's have a treat." She suggested.

"A treat?" Asked Knowledge. "What do you mean?"

"How does strawberry ice cream sound?" Assertive asked.

"Wow! I would love some." Happy started to bounce.

"But we don't have any." Knowledge countered confidently, but then she remembered her glasses. "Do you?" She asked.

Assertive stretched forth her hands and focused. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." She chanted once, and then a second and third time. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos. Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." Black energy glowed around her hands, as she focused. She recalled what the cool treat looked and tasted like. The smell of strawberries, the coolness... Slowly, eight bowls formed beneath her hands.

"Whew." She said with a smile. "That was tough. One bowl each." She said, watching as eager hands reached out.

"Who's the last bowl for?" Brave asked. "Should we fight for it?"

"It's for Rage, of course." She looked up as her friend appeared from behind a tree.

"Argh." Brave jumped to her feet, fists clenched.

"She's not here to cause trouble today." Assertive assured them. She looked up at the red-clad girl. "Are you." It wasn't a question.

"Not today. I think." The half-demon sat down. "A truce, just for today." She added.

"We can't find Timid." Affection suddenly spoke up, eyes going wide in fear. "We looked and looked but ..." She looked down at the cool bowl she held in her hand. "We should find her. She can have my share then. She'll need it more than I do."

"That's right." Happy stood, leaving her bowl on the ground. "We've got to look again. That maze of hers is pretty hard to search though. Can you help us?"

"She's okay." Assertive told them. "As I said, I'm old, yet I'm new."

Then, as one, the eyes of the five children went wide as they screamed. "Cooties."

* * *

"Beast Boy." Raven wearily spoke as they headed for their rooms.

"Raven." The boy turned to look at the violet-eyed girl. His sharp eyes told him she was focusing on her emotions, that something was wrong.

"I'm sorry." She said, eyes not meeting his.

"What? Why?" He was confused.

The blue-clad girl thought of the way his eyes had first sought her out today when they'd been on the edge of defeat, and recalled that it'd always been that way. "I know you love me." She said sadly. "I wish I could return it. I want to so much. But love isn't always bright and cheerful, and people aren't perfect. I can never allow myself to feel that depth of emotion." A single tear escaped her left eye, and with a quick movement she leaned forward to gently brush his lips with her own. "I wish." She sighed, and vanished as she seemed to fade into the floor.

Beast Boy stared at the empty spot she'd disappeared in shock. Then, slowly, his hand rose to touch his lips where she'd kissed him. He needed to talk to her, to say they could make it work; yet from her room he heard the sound of small explosions, and thumps as energy washed over walls. As much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn't. That it would be dangerous to both her and him. Tears of how own started flowing down his green cheeks from his emerald-green eyes.

End of Chapter.

* * *

For some reason, when I write Robin in a fight he seems to get the bad end of the deal.

Starfire's people, I do believe, are allergic to metallic chromium. Hence the use of it in this chapter.

The fight scene was a bit longer than I had planned, yet it never seemed to want to end.

_Many thanks to those who read and review_


	12. Chapter 12

**I do NOT own Teen Titans**

* * *

_**Time Out,... The Mouthwash Mystery,... Reflection,... Lame Jokes,... Bliss,...**_

Assertive sat back, watching her fellow emoticlones. As Timid she'd found fighting had frightened her, but now as Assertive she found it mostly just annoyed her. With a sigh, she watched the relentless battle between Brave and Knowledge over who would lead the search for BB. Usually by this time each day the shape shifter was in Happy's domain studying, but despite the fact that Raven had told them he wouldn't be here today, they were preparing a search.

"He's not coming." She told the two.

"Maybe she changed her mind." Knowledge said, sounding desperate.

"Nope. She didn't." Assertive assured her. "No BB today." She failed to keep the misery out of her own voice. She was sure if he was here she could trick him into another kiss. The plots that ran through her head would've made Rage envious. They would've also made Raven blush. One of them, she knew, would've worked.

"No BB." Came a dark and forlorn voice from behind her. It seemed even Rage was feeling down over the whole matter. She hadn't stirred from where she was sitting to cause trouble even once since their leader had made that announcement.

"Besides." Assertive told them. "If he were here the first thing Raven would do would be to seek Knowledge out to tutor him."

"True." But from the tone it seemed the yellow-clad girl had yet to give up. "We can still search." She added, pushing up her glasses.

"And I'll lead." Brave informed them.

"You know, you would get more done if you didn't spend so much time fighting over who was going to be leader." She plucked at some of the pink grass. _Maybe I should get Happy help me redecorate my labyrinth. _She mused. _Of course if I were to add too much pink it might drive Raven around the bend._

"Make me leader, and there wouldn't be so much wasted time." Brave pointed out, agreeing with Assertive.

"If I were leader all the time my knowledge could solve problems a lot faster." Knowledge added, also agreeing with Assertive.

"Why not just decide each morning by rock-paper-scissors? The person who wins would be leader for the day." She suggested, wondering if Raven would freak out of she added pink roses to the maze.

"She would cheat." Brave insisted.

"She would just ignore the rules if she lost." Knowledge retorted.

"You know." A light went on in Assertive's head. "I got the perfect solution."

"What is it?" The two rivals asked as one, still glaring at each other.

"This." The annoyed emoticlone reached out with her magic to encase the trouble makers in two bubbles of magic. "You stay in there and don't ruin everyone else's fun until you learn to cooperate." Rising, she walked in the direction of her labyrinth, deciding pink roses would be nice, along with some other flowers. _Maybe I can also make a few small pools and have some fish. _The girl mused, knowing making fish would be difficult. The infuriated voices that came from behind she ignored.

"See what you did now." Knowledge muttered, banging on the bubble that trapped her.

"Me? If you'd just let me be leader ..." Brave suddenly stopped pounding on the sphere that was now her prison and gulped.

"What?" Knowledge looked to where her archfoe was starting, and gulped too.

Rage had crept close to the two, and was eyeing them with mischief written all over her face.

"Help!" The two prisons started to scream. "We'll be good." They yelled.

"Rock-paper scissors is an excellent idea." Knowledge shrieked.

"It is! It is!" Brave hurried to agreed.

* * *

Beast Boy woke much later than usual, having spent much of the night thinking of that brief, yet unforgettably perfect kiss. That moment, along with the fight with the Joker had filled his dreams. The green-skinned Titans knew those dreams were trying to tell him something, but had yet to figure out just what it was.

Rising, he took his morning shower, noting that the full bottle of mouthwash he had was missing. _Strange. _He mused for a few brief seconds before letting the trivial matter fade from his occupied mind.

"Who stole my mouthwash?" Were the first words the hungry Titan heard as he entered the commons room, where he spotted an annoyed Cyborg.

"Strangely enough, my seventeen bottles of various flavored mouthwash were missing this morning as well." Starfire spoke, busy creating a new dish at the stove. "Glorious morning friend Beast Boy." She smiled at the shape shifter who headed directly for the fridge.

"Morning Starfire." He returned the greeting as he grabbed a cold slice of pizza from the fridge. "Morning Cy."

"Morning B."

"Who entered my room?"

All three Titan froze, before slowly turning to face the violet-eyed girl who had just teleported in the room. Though her voice was calm, and there was no hint of anger on her face, they suddenly felt the need to flee. Or run. Or do anything except face the girl who was clearly not pleased.

"It was not me. Friend Raven." Starfire hurried to speak up.

"I will never go in your room again." Cyborg added. "Once in Nevermore was enough for me."

"Let me guess. Missing mouthwash?" Beast Boy added. "Same problem as the rest of us." He shrugged. "After last night do we really need to ask who the culprit is. It's obvious."

"Robin." Intoned the girl who faded from the room.

"Sheesh." Cyborg muttered. "I know that kiss really got to him, but I bought him two full cases before I shut down for the night."

"Truthfully, I hate to wait too long between kisses from boyfriend Robin." Starfire spoke sadly. "But now I am in no hurry to kiss him until the memory of that strange-looking man with the weird grin kissing him fades from my memory. Even a Tamaranean has her limits." She shuddered, before turning to brutally slash at something that'd tried to crawl out of the pot she was using.

"Morning team." Robin walked in the door carrying two large boxes that had 'mouthwash' printed all over them.

Beast Boy, along with Cyborg and Starfire, turned to stare at those boxes. Neither of them were smiling.

"Hehe. Just some early morning shopping." Their leader declared before streaking for his room.

* * *

Stomach filled, Beast Boy headed for the famous Titan Tower rooftop. Looking out over the water, with a gentle breeze embracing him, he sat to think. The sun was bright, warming him, while tiny diamonds seemed to flash and sparkle among the waves, making the dark blue of the sea a thing of wonder. _Beautiful. _He thought, listening to the sound of seagulls calling to each other, and sometimes fighting over various discoveries. Looking at him one might've though he was lost in the sort of meditation he often teased a certain violet-eyed girl about.

Taking a few deep breath he started to recall the fight of the previous day. The way they'd been nearly overwhelmed by a villain who'd actually put some thought into his plan. The fear and sorrow when he'd thought they were going to die. The relief and joy when they'd been given a last-minute reprieve. The frightening scenes played through his mind three times, and still he knew he was missing something obvious; something that should've stood out, yet didn't.

"Morning." A well-know voice intoned behind him.

"Morning Raven." He smiled as his heart soared. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"It is." She admitted, gazing out over the water.

Turning, Beast Boy looked at the girl who always made his heart race; the girl who made any day, no matter how bad, seem special. He saw her lips were turned up in a faint, nearly unnoticeable smile. _She can be content, and even a little happy. _He noted with relief. Still his eyes remained on those lips as something tugged at his memory.

"I have yet to eat breakfast." Raven intoned, peering back at him. "So I know there's nothing on my face."

"Sometimes I just want to look." Beast Boy admitted, blushing.

"It's not good to remind me of what can never be." She sat beside him as her lips shifted ever so slightly. She was now frowning.

He blinked, and it came to him. "Can your emoticlones be unleashed when your powers are sealed?" The boy asked, thinking.

"Yes. Only my powers are sealed. It has no affect on them."

"And if you feel a certain emotion, say happiness, then that will cause that emoticlone to mature?"

"Yes. It's experience that causes people to grow. Without it we would all remain children. As they see and hear and feel what I do, they grow."

"And having your power sealed means it can't run out of control?"

"Yes." The girl paused, with just a slight widening of her eyes giving away her shock. "I see..." She said. "If I seal my power, I can allow myself to feel. They would grow, but I wouldn't have to worry about hurting anyone."

"Just a silly though." Beast Boy sighed. "If it were that easy, you would've thought of it long ago."

"Sometimes we miss the obvious." Raven whispered, feeling hope swell within her. "To give up the power to speak isn't something that one would normally think of doing willingly, yet it might work."

"It's not as if ..." He started to say.

"Let's give it a try." The girl, now excited, stood and pulled him to his feet. Around her the emotions she felt were starting to have an affect. Sparks of dark magic were getting free, causing tiny flashes in the air.

* * *

Beast Boy blinked as the view of the ocean faded, only to be replaced by a trashed room. _Ouch! _He though, recalling the explosions he'd heard the night before. The place was totalled.

Raven took a scarf from a dresser before pausing to think. "But what do I have that can make me feel?" She asked. "It's can't be too major or ..." She looked around the room, taking in the destruction.

"I know." Take us to my room, the boy ordered; once there he grabbed a small book.

"Take us to the far side of the island." He then suggested. "That way if things do get a little out of hand there won't be any mess to clean up." The shape shifter watched as a dark spark flew from the index finger of the girl's right hand to forever erase from existence a pile of problems he'd done on algebra. _Good thing I don't have to hand those in at a real school. _He mused. Then the room faded from view.

Raven tied the scarf around her mouth, but the sparks still flew from her fingers. No longer satisfied with causing minor flashes, they were now causing tiny explosions. _Why isn't it working? _She nearly cried. "Damn." She muttered savagely, as a huge nearby boulder vanished, and that answered that question. She retied the scarf, making it tight, before taking the book she was offered.

'A hundred and one Jokes.' The violet-eyed girl blinked, and looked at the shape shifter as if annoyed. _Anything to get me to laugh. _She silently mused. _He really doesn't ever give up. _Beneath the scarf she smiled.

* * *

Assertive headed back to the two trouble makers only to find Rage sitting nearby, staring up at them. The two trapped girls were looking back with the wide-eyed look of frightened sheep.

"Knock it off." She told her friend.

"Hrmph." The red-clad girl backed off.

"Rock-paper-scissors." The two girls exclaimed as one in panic filled voices. "It's a splendid idea." They chorused. "Please let us go." They begged.

"Play now. Winner gets to lead for a day. Tomorrow you play the game again." She paused. "And if any of the others want to they can play the game too. Winner leads."

The two paused as they realized if everyone played they wouldn't get to lead very often. And if Rude won there was no telling what she might do.

"Time's a-wasting." Assertive said, eyes half close. She let her gaze flicker over towards Rage.

"We agree." Came the immediately reply.

"Play." She ordered.

Brave choose stone, while Knowledge choose paper. It nearly made Assertive laugh. She could tell Brave would almost always choose stone since it was strong, while Knowledge would almost always choose paper since books were made of it. _In a few days this game is going to get interesting. _She thought.

"Knowledge leads until tomorrow." She ordered.

"Hrmph. Okay." Brave kicked at the ground with a frown.

"By the way, things should soon get a bit exciting. I'm guessing Raven is going to unleash all of you for a bit."

"All of us." The two chorused. Then they blinked as the sort of dazed look an emoticlone had when they saw through Raven's eyes, as well as their own, took over their faces.

Man: Doctor! I have a serious problem, I can never remember what I just said.

_Doctor: When did you first notice this problem?_

_Man: What problem?_

_Huh? _Assertive thought. _What is she reading?_

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Brave asked.

"I don't think so." Knowledge replied. "Let me check my book." She began to flip through its pages.

In the distance came the sound of Happy yelling. "Good one! Good one!".

_Knock, Knock!_

_Who's there?_

_Tank!_

_Tank who?_

_You're welcome!_

"That's dumb." Brave said. "Why don't she just go and find someone to fight? We'll beat them no problem." She punched the air a few times, dancing around.

_Right. _Muttered Assertive, recalling how the fight with the Joker had terrified the emoticlone. _And is that really supposed to be funny?_ She wondered.

"I fail to see the humor." Knowledge admitted with a frown. "I wish she was at a library. That would be cool. Still, the water is nice. All sparkly like that."

"It is." Brave agreed, suddenly pausing to stare. "Really, really nice."

In the distance Happy could be heard howling in laughter.

* * *

Raven took off the scarf. "I wanted something to make me feel." She intoned, as she brought the book down on the shape shifter's head. "Not jokes even lamer than the ones you tell." She disappeared.

Beast Boy stood up, gently rubbing his head where she'd hit him with the mock blow. "I though they were funny." He said to himself, sounding puzzled. "Maybe jokes aren't the way get her to laugh." He gave it some thought. "Nay. Everyone loves a good joke."

* * *

It was night and Beast Boy was settling down to sleep when a knock came on his door.

"Come in." He called out, knowing it was Raven. Even if he hadn't heard her footsteps, the way she knocked would've given her away.

She teleported in, wearing a scarf around her mouth, looking nervous. She held up a writing pad.

'If cuddling doesn't make me feel then nothing will.'

The shape shifter gulped. "Ah." He stuttered, not knowing what to say.

Glaring at him, Raven flipped a page.

'Try anything then this scarf comes off, and you'll lose a certain body part! Comprendes?'

He gulped. "Ah. Okay."

She flipped another page.

'And for the record. If the world ends, it's not my fault! It's yours!'

He grinned. "Ah. Okay."

Nervously sitting down, the violet-eyed girl rested her head on the boy's shoulder. Her heart ached in a way she'd never allowed it to before, and she knew it was the love she felt for the one she now, at last, held. Slowly, she blinked several times, wondering if it was a dream. But it didn't go away. Finally, letting her eyes close, she smiled at the warm sensation that seemed to encompass her whole being; exciting, yet soothing, it was like nothing she'd ever felt before. Then, in his arms with no need to bury what she felt, she drifted off to sleep.

For a while Beast Boy held the girl of his dreams with a slight smile on his face. His heart ached as well, unable to fully contain the love he had for the one who'd always haunted his dream. Then, watching over the one he held most precious, he too drifted off to sleep.

Fully clothed, they cuddled, and slept in each other's arms. Their hearts, filled with pure bliss, beat as one.

End of Chapter.

* * *

I'm terrible at jokes. They came from ones posted at Yahoo and 101funjokes.

I didn't spell it out, but what brought the idea to Beast Boy's mind was the fact that she lost her powers when the Joker sealed her mouth.

_Many thanks to those who read and review_


	13. Chapter 13

**I do NOT own Teen Titans**

_Notes and replies to comments: _

_This is the final chapter. Not much; just showing how things turn out. Hope you enjoy it. I also hope the Color Wheel didn't lead me astray._

_Assertive wouldn't want to be the leader. They're going to hunt for BB, but she already knows he's not in Nevermore. The other, younger emoticlones, just aren't willing to listen to that. She's meant to be portrayed as the older sister. When the rest argue, she's the one who would, now that she'd become Assertive, declare a time-out._

_While it wasn't clear, I meant to imply that when Raven seals her power, all her emoticlones are unleashed and can see and feel what she does._

_If Robin doesn't have Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome already, he will after this chapter._

_There is a time skip for this chapter._

_Time: Several weeks later._

* * *

_**The Nickname,... The Emoticlones Prepare,... A Fight,... The Night Arrives,... Assertive,...**_

_If I had known this would be the result. _Mused Raven, who was less than pleased. _I would've just stuck with the scarf._

"Morning Cy II." Cyborg greeted the girl as she walked into the commons room with an obvious smirk on his face.

"Hey Cy ..." Robin started with a slight grin of his own.

The violet-eyed girl checked her emotions, making sure they were under control, before touching the tiny lump that now existed in the middle of the right side of her throat.

"Waaa." Screamed the team leader as dark magic reached out to grab him. A portal then open that led to the ocean just a few hundred yards from the Tower.

"Hey, no fair ..." The portal then claimed another victim as it gobbled up a certain cybernetic teen who'd given Raven her new nickname, Cyborg II.

"Good riddance." The girl intoned, before touching the tiny lump again.

"Morning Raven." Beast Boy greater her with a smile that lit up his face.

She nodded her head, smiling back. 'I think I should've just stuck with the scarf.' She replied, using sign language.

The boy frowned. "Not in a million years, love." He shuddered. "It makes it seem too much like ... Well, you know."

Her heart melted as she heard the word 'love'. Sure, he said it any number of times each day, but she could tell he always meant it. _It's one word I'll never get tired of hearing. _She though, letting her smile grow larger. Grabbing her usual muffin from the fridge, cranberry this time, and setting the kettle to boil, she leaned down to give her boyfriend a lingering kiss that neither of them wanted to end.

"Glorious morning friend Beast Boy, glorious morning friend Raven." Starfire bounced into the room, interrupting the still ongoing kiss. "By chance have either of you seen boyfriend Robin." She looked around. "He was here just a few minutes ago."

"He said he was going for a swim." Beast Boy said, looking a little dazed with a silly grin on his face.

"Oh why ..." The girl blinked. "I see. He did the calling of names again?"

'Next time he ends up at the zoo.' Raven signed. 'In the cage with all the poisonous snakes.'

"I will speak to him about it." The red-head backed away from the girl whose glowering eyes made her sweat a little. "I will try to make him understand it's not nice." She turned and fled, obviously heading out to search the ocean for the missing boy.

With a sigh, the violet-haired girl stood up, having sat on her boyfriend's lap for the short, if intense, kissing session. 'How's the studying going?' She signed.

"Good. I finished the section on algebra last night. It's geometry now."

'Excellent.' She signed with a smile. 'Keep this up and we'll be taking the highschool equivalency test together next time.' She grinned.

"That'll be cool." His heart melted at the grin his girlfriend sent his way. "How's the device working?"

Raven reached up to touch the lump in her throat. She had no plans to abandon her role as a Titan, so giving up speech altogether was out. And Beast Boy was right, a scarf seemed way too ... kinky. The device, as they called it, was something Cyborg had come up with. In short, while her emotions were under control, it allowed her to turn the muscles she needed to speak off and on at will. Unless they were on a mission, it would disable her speech altogether should her blood show chemical signs of any particularly strong emotions.

Much as she hated it, it was just until she was twenty-one, and had finished growing. _And the benefits make it worth it. _The violet-eyed girl thought with a warm glow, recalling all the make-out session she and her boyfriend now regularly engaged in.

Finally sitting down to eat her muffin, having resisted the urge for more kissing, she continued to prod at the device. It had a number of drawbacks. For one, there was her new nickname... Cyborg II. It was even worse than Rae, yet nearly all the honorary Titans had taken to calling her that. It seemed Cyborg and Robin had referred to her by that name a number of time in public notices, and it'd taken hold.

_Stupid nickname. _She silently fumed, taking a larger than usual bite out of her muffin. _I'll get them back. _She swore.

"It's just a name. They would only do that because you're a friend, and it's the sort of things friends do. It's not meant to be mean."

She glanced up to see her boyfriend watching her, and her heart melted again. _Stop doing that. _She told it. _I mean sometimes is okay, but all the time? _She sighed. 'I know. That's why I just sent them for a swim, and not to the zoo. It still annoys me though.'

"We still on for tonight?" He asked, eyebrows raised as he looked at her.

The girl gulped. 'We are.' She signed with her nimble fingers, as her heart melted again. That was the second drawback. Unless her emotions were under control, she had to use sign language.

* * *

"Boring." Sighed Brave, as the other girls talked about dresses and makeup and boys; well, one boy in particular anyway.

"Brown is such a limited color." Sighed Neat, who'd once been known as Sloth.

"But you can always add pink." Happy told her. "Maybe some pink rings, or earrings, or maybe even a pink necklace."

"Does pink and brown go together?" Neat wondered.

"Who cares. No one is going to see us anyway." Brave pointed out, turning to throw a few punches in the air. It was, she knew useless. Since Beast Boy had asked Raven out on an actual date, the others could only think of clothes and makeup and jewelry. It was enough to make her sick.

"Sure." Assertive said sarcastically, as she watched the girls have fun. "That's why you cut your hair, and had a pink heart drawn on your cloak." She smiled at the blushing emoticlone.

"Well..." Brave found she had no real answer to that, so she just threw more punches, wishing Raven had a villain to fight. Or would go back to kissing. That, she decided, was even better than fighting.

Assertive turned to Neat. "They go together." She informed the emoticlone who seemed lost in thought.

"Cool." The girl bounced around, giggling. "But I wonder if BB would like it?" While not as bad as Happy and Affection, all the emoticlone became giggly when it came to the green-skinned shape shifter.

"I think he likes anything Raven wears." Knowledge answered. "He's always looking at her."

"Sometimes too much." Retorted Rude. "But I like that he does." She then added in a totally different voice. The emoticlone was torn between her old ways of being Rude, and the new persona she was developing called Polite. Like all her sisters, she had a range of emotions and attitudes that she shifted between depending on the occasion.

With a hint of a frown, the girl once known as Timid glanced at Rage. The red-clad girl was the aspect of Raven that represented lust, and as such was willing to be more than just a little bit daring when it came to her outfit. _Not that anyone can see her in here other than us. _Assertive sighed in relief. _Thank goodness. That outfit would giver BB a heartattack._

"Can you make us pink rings with rose shaped stones?" Happy and Neat suddenly chorused.

"I'll make you one ring each, and a pair of earrings." She told the whole group, causing them to swarm her with questions of what they should get, and if she thought BB would like such and such. "What matters is if you like it." She added with a smile. Her sisters had grown, and the word 'cooties' no longer sent them running in terror.

The festivities was interrupted as Brave let out a triumphant yell. "Yes. A fight. Go Raven." She began to dance around, still swinging her fists.

* * *

Raven looked up as the alarm went off. 'Seems it was a bad time to toss our name-calling leader in the ocean.' She signed across the table to her boyfriend.

Beast Boy shrugged. "I'm sure Star has found both him and Cy by now."

"The alarm." Yelled a soggy looking boy with spiked hair, as he rushed into the room.

"If my systems weren't water tight ..." Cyborg marched in behind Boy Wonder muttering.

"I found them." Starfire needlessly informed them, coming in behind the duo.

"It's Adonis." Robin informed them seconds later, shaking his head in wonder.

"What is it?" Beast Boy asked.

"It seems he's robbing the students at Jump City University."

"Not much profit there." Cyborg mused. "Between books and tuition, along with all those late night parties, those students don't have much cash to spare. Why condoms alone used to cost me ..." He paused, and blushed before adding. "Ahem. Never mind."

"Oh. It's just the girls he's harassing." Boy Wonder explained with another sigh. "He's demanding their jewelry unless they admit that Adonis is the greatest, and give him their phone numbers."

"Oh." From his expression it was obvious that Cyborg didn't know what to say.

"That's our Adonis." Beast Boy sighed.

* * *

As it turned out, the supervillain was making a mint. The campus usually saw a hundred thousand people pass through each day, half of them women. However it seemed even among those masses, that not one of them thought that Adonis was the greatest, and even found the sacrifice of their jewelry a small price to pay to be able to flee his non-ending self-praise.

"Finding the owners of all that is going to be a pain." Cyborg said, as he stared at the steps to the University Library that was covered in rings and necklaces, along with tens of thousands of pairs of earrings. Scattered around there were literally small mountains of bracelets.

"Not our job." Their still soaking wet leader declared. He looked towards Raven.

She touched the lump in throat, setting it to mission mode. "Ready." She intoned.

"Titans! Go!" The boy exclaimed, and they moved into position.

"Give it up Adonis." Boy Wonder commanded.

"The Titans." Came the growled response. "Even if I don't get any phone numbers, I still get to crush you." He flexed the muscles of his cybernetic suit.

Raven held up her hand. "Wait. Fifty thousand girls, and they all said no." It was clear even she found that hard to believe. "I mean, not even one ..." She shook her head in disbelief. "Wow."

"They were just too in awe of me." The boy in the red suit declared. "They didn't think themselves worthy of the great Adonis."

"Talk about an ego." Raven quipped.

"I'm the great Adonis." Came the angry reply. Jumping down into the parking lot, the villain grabbed a car to throw.

The violet-eyed girl, who easily caught it with her magic, twirled it around before setting it gently back on the ground. "I know one person who might go on a date with you." She intoned, though an evil glint appeared in her eye. Obviously Rage was having a little say in what was to come.

"Oh." The villain stood in shock, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. Obviously he thought the girl meant herself.

Raven pointed at Robin. "We've caught him making out with the Joker once." She intoned.

"Waaa. No... That kiss was supposed to be a secret." The spikey-haired boy claimed, causing the several thousand on-looking students, all with cellphone cameras held high, to believe the girl's words were true.

"I'm sure if you asked nicely, he would be more than willing to ... you know." The violet-eyed girl smiled happily, looking innocent.

"Grrr." Came a growl. "Titans. Go!" The leader yelled again. Taking a freeze disc, he flung it at the boy who'd actually looked thoughtful at Raven's suggestion.

With a slight smile, the pleased half-demon decided to handle matters. After all, she did have a date to prepare for even if it was still twelve hours away. With ease she lift the giant suit-clad figure, and started to twirl him around. As Beast Boy had suggested, it had more of an affect than just slamming him into a wall; as a side benefit it left said wall intact.

_So much easier. _The blue-clad girl sighed with a happy smile, still twirling the red-clad villain around and around. Her emoticlone were aging rapidly as they experienced the real world, and were now better able to manage their own emotions without letting them run wild. As such, her powers were nearly double what they had been, and would continue to grow until her sisters reached the same age as her.

Slowly, still possessing the evil glint that said Rage had some say in this, she counted off two minutes as she twirled the screaming figure around at a rate of roughly ten times per second. Then she put him down. That was it; the fight was over as the red-clad figure fell moaning, and puking, to the ground. There wasn't a villain yet that'd managed to escape unscathed from that particular trick.

The mission over, the violet-eyed girl smiled before reaching up to set the device in her throat to off. She immediately lost the ability to speak as it sensed her emotional state. The headache that'd been slowly building quickly started to fade.

'I have a date with Beast Boy tonight." She signed to Starfire.

"Eeeek." The red-headed Tamaranean squealed in sudden delight. "You must tell me everything that happens." She insisted. "Especially any kissing. I still need to get boyfriend Robin to kiss me more, and I have observed that isn't something you and friend Beast Boy have trouble with. I need pointers."

Feeling a little disturbed that her and her boyfriend's kissing sessions might not always be private, Raven shuddered a little before continuing. 'He said it's casual, but I need a new outfit. Would you help me pick it out?'

A nearby car window shattered with the next squeal, as the jubilant Tamaranean pulled her fellow female Titan into a bone-crushing grasp, and rose into the air. It wasn't the only broken window as the excited girl, who finally had someone to go to the mall of shopping with, set course for the nearest clothing store at supersonic speed.

Meanwhile, the video of their leader's soon to be famous confession sped around the world. 'Boy Wonder Confesses Love for Joker.' Would soon become a common theme for newspapers headlines and talk shows alike. Not to mention the talk of the honorary Titans. The traumatized boy would never call Raven Cyborg II ever again.

* * *

Sneakers, along with a pair of blue denim jeans, and a black shirt, was Beast Boy's outfit for the date. Pacing the floor of the commons room he was driving Cyborg and Robin crazy. They were intent on returning the favor.

"Yo, B." Cy called out. "You know those colors don't go together."

"Green skin with a black shirt." Robin shook his head and sighed. "I think you might finally get her to laugh.

The shape shifter continued to pace. He really had no idea if they were right, or if they were just teasing him. However, after a half-hour online he'd found something called the Color Wheel, and had zealously studied it for another half-hour. It'd claimed that the colors of blue found in denim went well with anything, as did black. With his stomach twisted in knots, he prayed that his instincts were right.

_Will she laugh at me? Will she laugh at me? _The poor boy asked himself time and time again, nearly hyperventilating as he circled the room over and over. Only the fact the floor was made of titanium kept him from wearing a hole in it. Only the fear of what the violet-eyed, half-demon, girl would do to them if they messed up her date, kept the other two from committing murder as he endlessly circled them, frenetically muttering under his breath.

Finally the clock stuck eight, and the door leading to the living quarters opened. As one the three guys looked, and then blinked, as their jaws dropped. Raven wasn't in her usual outfit.

Nervously she entered the room, dressed in colors she'd never imagined herself wearing before. Her violet hair, which had been given a simple trim, brushed against a yellow shirt that was tucked into a pair of form-fitting black jeans. They in turn brush against pair of sensible sneakers that were a denim blue. To complete the outfit she carried a small, fake-leather handbag. Nervously swallowing, she looked up, unable to meet the eyes of her date. _Oh Azarath. _She thought in heart-wrenching agony. _What if he laughs? I've never worn bright colors before. What if I don't look nice in yellow? Why did I listen to Starfire? Because she nagged at me for six freaking hours! That's why! But what would she know about Earth fashion? She's not even from this world. What if ... _She wanted to scream.

In reality Beast Boy had no idea if the colors matched. For that matter he didn't care. He only knew she was beautiful, and that was what he whispered. "Beautiful." In a tone that spoke of someone whose breath had been taken away.

Finally the trembling girl managed to look up, and then smile as she saw the handsome figure who stood before her. The figure who looked at her not as if she was merely beautiful, but as if she was the only thing in his world. 'Handsome.' She signed, as the smile reached her eyes, making them sparkle.

* * *

The date was simple. He knew that being half demon, the eyes of the violet-eyed girl were sensitive to light. So he avoided fancy places that were well-lit. He also knew she tended to be solitary, and didn't like crowds. So he worked on what he knew she did like.

In a city of five million there were countless cafes, some depressingly creepy and some not. So he'd spent days scouring Jump City for a few cafes he thought she might like; all were some distance from the Tower, so he considered it unlikely that she would've been to either of them before.

Knowing that her favorite food was muffins, which she practically live off, he'd researched various kinds, and had, at a price, had several rather unique varieties he though the girl might like added to the menus of a few of those cafes for that one day. Any place that didn't offer myriad forms of herbal tea had been automatically scratched from the list.

Driven by the T-car, which he'd viciously bribed Cyborg into lending them, one of those cafes was their first stop. There they ate, and quietly talked about what he had in mind for the night. He spoke in a quiet whisper, while she spoke with those nimble fingers of hers. As they talked the nervousness quickly faded. Date or not, they were still Raven and Beast Boy. When they realized that, the awkwardness faded, and the two of them settled back to enjoy the night with slight smiles adorning their faces.

That'd been followed by a movie. Nothing with bright flashing lights, but rather a simple horror story filled with dark colors and a lot of gray. The theatre had been nearly empty and so, alone, they'd sat in the back while their eyes more than compensated for the distance. There they'd quietly whispered, talking about the movie, wondering if the special effects could've been any worse. There were no words of love as they cuddle together, quietly commenting on this and that as they watched the movie. Yet it was peaceful, and even if the movie was rather forgetful, the cuddling more than made up for it. For both it'd been sheer bliss.

Next they toured the rest of the cafes the shape shifter had scouted. Raven went into a frenzy, frequently commenting on each as she carefully marked their location, and made plans to visit them again. She'd been radiant, with an expression of pure bliss as they'd strolled through them, hand in hand, occasionally stopping to try this or that from the menus.

It'd been at the last of those that he'd given the unusually cheerful the girl the ring. It was nothing fancy, being just a simple band with a small pale azure blue amazonite. As rings went it was cheap, but that wasn't the reason he'd chosen it. That particular stone was commonly refered to as the lucky Hope Stone which, among the emoticlones, was her name, Hope. Nor was it given as a promise that they would one day marry, but merely as an oath that he would always be there for her, and would always cherish her; that they were soul mates.

Until then Raven had been merely letting one wave of emotion after another wash over her. He'd made a date that suited her. That told her just how well he knew her. The effort he'd put into it spoke of his love for her. As they'd quietly talked and ate, she'd known she was in heaven, but then came the cheap corny ring, and that had made her cry. She'd held in it tightly in her hand, knowing the oath he swore was no idle thing; that he would stand by her until the end of the time; that she, Raven, also known as Hope, would never be alone again. So she'd wept, and smiled, feeling that which she'd known would always be forbidden to her; true love.

* * *

Assertive, also known as Timid, smiled. From the time she'd touch his arm she'd known that the one they called BB had already sworn that oath a thousand times. It'd been in his heart each time he saw the girl called Raven, and each time he thought of her. It'd been that oath that'd give her the strength to fight the part of her called Timid, and that'd told her she could finally rest, for there was now another who would share her burden; that there was another who would forever stand guard over her and her sisters.

With a smile she looked down at Rage who was resting her head on her stomach. Even the darkest part of Hope was content to just let things pass as they should. Around them, she saw the other emoticlones with smiles on their faces as they shared with Raven the hope and love she was feeling.

More than content, she let her head rest back against one of Happy's very pink cotton-candy trees. Tomorrow she knew she would have work to do. Everyone of her sisters, Rage included, would want a ring identical to Raven's.

End of Story.

* * *

Raven the prankster: Remember, Rage is a part of her, and pranking would be in that particular emoticlone's nature. Plus Raven has spent years living with three pranksters; some of it would've rubbed off.

The stories I write always twist around on me, and hardly ever turn out the way I plan. For this story Beast Boy was never meant to turn into a toad, rather Rage was supposed to get her kiss. The other emoticlones were then supposed to seeit and go to war with each other, taking to heart the phrase, 'All's fair in love and war.'. It was supposed to be a brutal (in a friendly sort of way) battle to see who could get a kiss of their own. But then I though, 'What would Beast Boy do?' and the story twisted to become what it is now.

_Many thanks to those who read and reviewed this story. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it._


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